Gratitude is the cornerstone of joyfulness. It works miracles in your life. It opens your heart to God's kingdom and seals it off from spite, resentment and rage.

At the Ace of Spades blog Warden writes a good post about gratitude. He writes about an outing he and his wife had in which another person self-sabotaged in victimhood. Then, he observed,

It’s quite literally insane to willfully spoil your own joy in what is an otherwise perfect evening over some petty grievance. Counting your blessings isn’t just some quaint saying. It is how you forge a connection with God on a daily basis.

Gratitude is the cornerstone of joyfulness. It works miracles in your life. It opens your heart to God’s kingdom and seals it off from spite, resentment and rage.

And look, as a sinner, I get it. I’ve been this woman. I struggle with resentment. I struggle with letting go, particularly when I’m convinced I’ve been wronged.

It all starts with slowing down your knee-jerk emotional reactions and examining yourself. Everyone wants to say, “I am a victim. I have been wronged.”

No one wants to say, “I am blessed. God has given me more than I deserve.”

What is so hard about this? Why won’t we say it? Why won’t we acknowledge what has been so graciously granted to us? Are we afraid we’ll lose face? Are we afraid we’ll lose moral superiority?

Or perhaps it’s because we’re afraid that this acknowledgement will then require something of us–something greater than we’re giving at the moment.