Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s one of those perfect kinds of mornings with clear skies and cool air before things heat up for the day. Part of me wishes it could be like this all the time, but if it were like this all the time, I’d eventually take it for granted. Only God is “the same yesterday, today, and forevermore” while everything else in between changes. It’s the changing that keeps us on our toes, and it’s the changing that causes some of us to seek His Will a little harder than all the others. Some changes are good ones…some are bad ones…some seemingly without much relevance at all…at least from where I sit. Because I know that change comes to all of us, I determine to face each new day with a renewed Heart and an attitude of Gratitude while I Ready myself for whatever change I might face on this new day. Isn’t that how you look at change, too?

It can be so easy to take things for granted in life if we’re not careful, but we miss out on the Purpose of Life when we do. We skip through life without a care in the world as long as things are running smoothly, and before we know it, we begin to take things for granted in the process. We live as if love will always be there – it’s when we take love for granted that it has the potential to fade. We live as if nothing in life needs to be nurtured, but nothing grows strong roots without nurturing. We live as if life never ends for anybody – it’s when we take life for granted that we forget to savor more moments. We live as if money will always be there – it’s when we take money for granted that we spend it recklessly, OR we take for granted all those beautiful opportunities that can lift us out of poverty. We live as if good health is just a way of life – it’s when we take good health for granted that we forget to protect it. We live as if we have forever to do all those things we’ve always dreamed of doing…but it’s when we take our dreams for granted that we begin to perish. There’s no end to what we take for granted and no limit to our excuses when we do. It’s ONLY when we have a sincere Attitude of Gratitude for every sliver of life that we realize how precious (and how frail) life is, and we make SURE to savor it all while we’re still here.

The Bible says that in the end times, “men will be lovers of themselves” – no doubt, taking things for granted is a very clear picture of what that looks like today. It’s the selfish heart of man that leads to taking things for granted – living for ourselves and tending to our own needs above all else. The hard Reality is that it’s not possible to be filled with an Attitude of Gratitude for all that He is and all that He does when we take so much for granted…we’re “lovers of” ourselves instead. It’s when we see the Blessing of it all…the Blessing of each one…the Blessing of every Ordained moment…the Blessing found in every up and every down…even the Blessing behind the changes…that we learn to savor it ALL and taking things for granted is Spiritually impossible. The Lord “gives and takes away,” and I can’t help but wonder if He changes things up in Life to be sure that we don’t take it for granted.

I’m savoring this cool summer morning before it changes back to the norm, and I’m overflowing with an Attitude of Gratitude even though my life isn’t “perfect” here on earth. Change comes to all of us, and I’ve had my fair share just like the rest of the world. Sometimes I embrace it and sometimes I fight it, but I always Trust Him with the change. I don’t want to take one moment…one person…one change for granted, and I want to overflow with an Attitude of Gratitude that can be seen far and wide…no no matter what’s going on in the Journey called Life. May it never be said of me that I was a “lover of” self.

How about you?