This past summer, I went on chorus tour with about 40 other people. And it could be quite frustrating at times. Our director constantly told us what we should and shouldn't do, we were all crammed into close proximity, we were far from home, and we were tired, and just irritated in general because we're human. The entire trip, all that came from my mouth was complaining. About wanting to go home, or how tired I was, or how hungry I was, or how loud other people were. Now, how unfair is that?
We were able to do some amazing things! We went to the Grand Canyon, we splashed in the waves of the Pacific Ocean, we were able to sing with 150 other Christian choral performers, we learned so much from a highly acclaimed performer and director, and as much as we hated it at the time, we had the chance to be with each other every day. The things we did on the trip were pretty incredible. And even still, those awesome things were not what the trip was all about.
As Christians, we had an amazing opportunity to spread God's word freely for 16 days. And honestly, the days I spent listening to my peers preach and teach me, I learned so much more about myself and my faith simply from them and what they had to say, and from experiencing their talents that the Lord has blessed them with. Those two weeks taught me things about my relationship and myself with God that I may have never learned and I should be grateful for those things.
So now, I have been trying to apply these thoughts to my life. How can I be grateful in all aspects? The dictionary definition of the word grateful is to feel or show an appreciation for an act of kindness. To live a life of gratefulness is to see and think differently. It is necessary to put things into perspective, to see things in a positive light, and to keep ugly and self-entitled thoughts away. Instead of always thinking of what I can get from a situation, I will think of ways to contribute to a situation, and how I can benefit others.
So, on the days when the workload is too much, when people are irritating, when I didn’t get enough sleep, or when I’m too hungry for words, I should be grateful to just be alive, and that I was blessed to live another day. I should thank my lucky stars for the talents I have, the people in my life, and the privileges I get to experience every day. For this week, I will challenge myself to not complain and to be positive in every aspect. Tomorrow, I am going to enjoy the beauty of my little campus, and as I sit back and enjoy this ride we call life, I will remind myself to {just be} grateful.
