Quote

Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul.

Amy Collette

Real Life

As a teenager I was a keen hockey player who wanted to see how far I could go with my sport. I loved the challenge of bettering myself and pitting myself against others.

However, at 19 years old, a ten year journey of chronic illness made those hopes of achieving in sport unattainable. While that decade of illness took some opportunities from me, it also gifted me with a deep gratitude for good health. Once I was well, I competed in running events, swam across lakes, and played sport with my husband and kids. I was thankful for every run, swim, and game and felt such joy in every event I took part in. Having been limited by pain and fatigue for a decade, every moment of wellness felt like a precious gift.

Recently I began to have joint pain and swelling throughout my body and I began to realise that something was not right. By the time I went to the doctor I was already starting to consider what my life might look like if I had rheumatoid arthritis or something similar. While it was tough to consider that possibility and I certainly shed some tears about it, the underlying emotion through it all was one of deep gratitude. I was so very thankful that I had had sixteen years of wellness when I had made the most of my good health and consciously loved every moment of it. To be moving into a second time of uncertainty and challenge around my health, that gift of gratitude is deeply significant. Gratitude helps us to face difficulties with a positivity that strengthens us. It is a God created mechanism that lifts us when we need it most, and if it feels to difficult to summon it on our own God is only a prayer away to help us step away from despair and into thankfulness.

As it turns out, even with rheumatoid arthritis, my specialist assures me that in time and with the support of medication, I will be able to return to sport and exercise.

Bible Verse

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

Prayer

Thank You Lord for the gift of gratitude, please grow it in me to new levels. Help me to be so filled with praise and thanks that they flow from me in all circumstances.

Author: Sarah Auld   |   Content Editor: Phil Pawley