storm
Devotions,  Gratitude

Perspective Changes Everything


“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” – 1 Chronicles 16:8, NIV


Penny and her family watched the storm roll in from the safety of their house in the suburbs. The window howled and the branches on the neighborhood trees bowed under the pressure. The rains drenched the ground and as the wind continued, trees were uprooted.

A transformer blew and the entire town lost electricity. But as soon as the storm was over, neighbors were outside, cleaning up the damage. Word quickly spread that a local store was opening their doors and serving hot food.

Customers lined up, hundreds of people from the community flooding in. Penny and her family bought a hot meal and headed home. Penny says, “That chicken tasted so good! It was overdone and dry but right then, it was the best food I’d ever had.”

It’s easy to take things like a hot meal, access to clean water, and electricity for granted. You have it every day so you assume that you always will. But what if you don’t? What if you woke up tomorrow to find you’d lost everything but your friends and family?

As upsetting as losing electricity was, it also offered Penny the chance to reevaluate and notice all of the little things (like hot food and warm showers) that she had been ignoring. Doing this helped her remember to practice gratitude more often.


God, thank You all of the blessings I normally take for granted. Thank You for gifts like food in the fridge, shoes to protect my feet, the ability to read, and so much more!