Complaining reveals an ungrateful heart...

My little family traveled almost 10 hours to Pennsylvania today. It was supposed to be an 8 hour trip but because of the weather and traffic, it took 2 hours longer than planned. Believe it or not, our 5 year old and 2 year old were little angels. They watched movies and napped and never really complained or whined. It was actually a very enjoyable trip. After the busy weekend we had packing and moving, it was nice to just sit still for almost an entire day. 

As we were driving along, I had a lot of time to think, especially while Bryan was resting. There was standstill traffic and I was watching the folks in neighboring cars. It was apparent that some of them were unhappy about how slow the cars were moving. I could tell that many of them were complaining and it made my mind wander back through out the day and even the past week. How many times do I hear someone complain within a day? How many times do I complain in a week? How often is my mind cluttered with my own complaints or the complaints of others? As I entertained this thought, I began to pray about it. I felt God say to me, "maybe constant complaining is a result of an ungrateful heart." Wow, that thought hit me right between the eyes. Honestly, even if traffic is standing still or I hit every red light in town or the weather isn't what I'd hoped for, I really have nothing to complain about. If my heart stays focused on all the things I have to be grateful for, it will drown out the complaints. I mean seriously, until I have no food to eat, no family to love, no clothes to wear, no car to drive, or no church to attend, I really shouldn't be complaining. 

I saw the picture below a couple of days ago and I just can't get it out of my head. The image popped in my mind again today as I considered the heart issue behind all the complaints I hear on a day to day basis. When I compare our lives to this picture, I am embarrassed by all the complaining! Our cars won't start, we lost our sunglasses, someone said something we didn't like, something costs to much, our dishwasher is broken, we got a hole in our favorite sweater...so what?! Life could be so much worse. 

Honestly, as Americans, we have nothing to complain about. Even the most impoverished person in the United States has it made in comparison to so many in our world. So, why is our culture plagued with complaints? I truly believe it comes from an ungrateful heart. I desperately want to be a woman with a grateful heart. So, as I sat in traffic this afternoon, I challenged myself to stay focused on all of God's amazing gifts instead of complaining. Any time I feel the urge to utter a complaint, I want to refocus my heart. If complaining reveals an ungrateful heart, I don't ever want to complain again. Now, I know I can't do this on my own but with my Lord's help, I can do all things. 

As we begin to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with our families and friends, I am thankful that I honestly have NOTHING to complain about. God has blessed me abundantly. Of course there will be things that don't go my way or hurt my feelings or discourage me but that doesn't mean I have to complain. I can take those things to Jesus, lay them at His feet, and still sing songs of joy because of all He has done and will do in my life. It seems like the perfect time of year to challenge myself to refocus my heart and stop complaining. In fact, I challenge you to do the same. Let's all have grateful hearts and may our words and attitudes reveal it!