I often write about gratitude because I find it an awe-inspiring phenomenon.  An expression of gratitude can turn a dreary, weary day into a sun-filled event.  I have so much to be grateful for that I feel the need to say thank you over and over again.  Thank you, dear Lord.

Today, I was especially thinking about my mother and her simple prayer “Dear God, give me strength.”  She said this prayer repeatedly during her life – more than daily and right up until the day she left this earthly abode.  With a houseful of children and responsibilities, God granted her request as often as she asked.  As her life changed after all the children were grown and gone, her caretaker duties transferred to my father.  Again, God answered her prayers and gave her the strength she needed to help him.

And when she died, the God whom she had loved forever, gave her the strength she needed to leave with the knowledge that she was entering a new phase of her “life” where the simple prayer was not needed any longer.  It could be replaced with a simple heartfelt “Thank you, dear Lord.”

I will always be grateful for God’s gift of endless grace in all its forms, not only to my mother but to all of His children.   Our God loves us unconditionally.

Terri

“For by grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not your own doing:  it is the gift of God.”
Ephesians 2:8 English Standard Version (ESV)