There are plenty of scriptures that emphasize gratitude as part of a Christian’s lifestyle.

But I shouldn’t really need a scripture to tell me to be grateful.

Out of the blue, the song “Be Grateful” by Walter Hawkins was in my head in the shower one morning. It was a staple in our family when I was younger, but I haven’t heard the song in a while.

One of the verses of the song always stuck out to me:

Be grateful (be grateful)

Because there’s someone else who’d love to be in your shoes.

When I consider that line of the song, I think about gratefulness differently.

I have looked at my life and wondered WHO, in their right mind, would want to be where I am right now?

Even as I think of my life in my twenties, I rented a room without a shower. I had options to clean my body. I could use the sink in my room to wash up, or I could walk through the house of the person I was renting from. Then, I would take a shower in their bathroom.

No, that was not an ideal living situation. However, I could still be grateful that I had somewhere to stay.

A homeless person would probably rather have that than live on the street in extreme weather.

Being grateful isn’t about having the best of everything and then deciding to give thanks.

It’s about giving thanks no matter what.

When your family gets on your nerves, there is someone out there wishing their family would reach out to them.

When you have a sucky job, remember that someone wishes they had it. They would love to have some income.

I’m not saying the parts of your life that are hard are not really hard.

They are.

What I am saying is this: look at those hard things through the lens of gratefulness. You will see that you are being cared for even through those hard things.

I Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT) -Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.