“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”
This quote is by Maya Angelou, who was a poet, singer, and civil rights activist. In her quote, Angelou talks about gratitude and faith—two of the most valuable gifts we can have.
We can never have too much gratitude. It’s easy to take for granted our abilities, our health, the opportunities we’ve had, that there are people who love us, and so much more. Our ego attitude might be that we have earned or are somehow deserving of these aspects of our lives. If so, we are wrong, for they are all entirely gifts from our Creator.
One of the many things for which I’m thankful is that I’ve had good health throughout my life. I’ve been fortunate that I haven’t had a serious illness or injury which required me to be in the hospital or to need to undergo extensive treatment. A couple months ago I had pneumonia for the first time. In addition to congestion, a fever, and a persistent, deep cough, another of its symptoms was fatigue. For almost three weeks I needed to sleep more hours each day than I was awake; the doctor who diagnosed the illness said that was to be expected and to not push myself to be active until my body was ready. And that also meant missing three weeks of work.
I would catch myself feeling sorry for myself and at times feeling frustrated that I needed to miss so much work and that I couldn’t do my usual activities, including spending time with loved ones. I was so used to being healthy that I had difficulty accepting my illness. But then I’d remember the many people in our world who endure far more serious and long-lasting illnesses and other burdens, and I felt ashamed of my self-centered attitude. I am well again and the experience has made me even more thankful for good health, and hopefully it also taught me to be more accepting of life’s challenges.
Angelou also talks about faith. Having faith helps us in many ways. Because faith is based on spiritual discernment rather than on proof, it enables us to better deal with the unknown. Our belief in God reminds us that we are not alone on our earthly journey. Faith accompanies us as we do our best to deal with difficulties that are part of everyone’s life from time to time, and faith is also a source of hope and meaning in our lives.
Each day we should recognize our many blessings and give thanks to our Creator for them, including giving thanks for the gift of faith.