We often think of gratitude as something we feel after something good happens. Yet, if we start with gratitude to God, this has a profound effect on our thinking and experience. Gratitude then becomes a powerful contributor to finding solutions to all sorts of difficulties.
Early in our marriage, my wife and I were students at the university, and our finances were very tight. As the school year wound down, our income went from small-but-adequate to nonexistent. It was several months before the following year's scholarships would resume. My application for a student loan was being processed but didn't look promising. And although we were looking, neither of us had found a part-time job in the recession economy. We were quite suddenly faced with no resources to pay our rent or buy food.
Each of us began to pray about this situation. We knew that God is a sure source of spiritual ideas, and that these ideas meet our practical needs. We acknowledged that we are His beloved children, and that we are always complete, having everything needed for the fulfillment of His plan in us. We also knew that poverty wasn't part of that plan for anyone, and that our prayers would bring healing and resolution to the situation. These powerful spiritual truths began to lift the near-desperation we were both feeling.
