When Gratitude Surprises You

May 15

My husband and I listed our home with a realtor last fall hoping to move closer to my father-in-law since our average drive-time to his apartment is 45 minutes on a good day. We want to be able to stop for a quick visit and be available to help with small problems when his hearing aids don’t work or he accidentally presses the wrong button on his computer and deletes icons for frequently visited sites like Netflix and Amazon.

God even blessed us with a small condo to rent that is dated but nonetheless only seven minutes from dad’s apartment, making our commute much more driver friendly. We weren’t excited about downsizing again, but we were willing to do whatever it took to get us closer to dad.

Funny how we can feel like God is moving and putting pieces together to bring about our desired result, when all along He might be trying to teach us a lesson instead. The fact is, Gary and I never really wanted to sell our house. We moved 2 ½ years ago from Ohio to Florida, and it was a BIG move. We weren’t all that crazy about packing our house again and storing what didn’t fit in the much smaller condo we were about to rent. But we were willing to do it to help dad more. Willing to give up our comfortable home to be of greater service to dad.

The truth is, Gary and I had been praying through the house sale and both felt in our spirits that we were not to sell. We contacted the realtor and shared our decision only to find that we were threatened, harassed, and forced to continue to show our home because we had signed a contract with no “end date” on it. The realtor saw us coming and locked us into a year-long contract that we never wanted.

After six months of showings and Open Houses, frustration and a few tears, we decided we were letting our realtor go no matter what. She asked to show the house one more time, and you can guess what happened. At the final Open House, a sweet couple from South Carolina made us an offer. We assumed that was God’s plan. We had to sell. So, we negotiated a bit and begrudgingly agreed to sell.

Six weeks later, the buyers still had no offers on their SC home, so we allowed their offer to expire and happily fired our realtor, taking our home off the market after seven months of stress-filled showings.

Interestingly, before we listed the house for sale, it seemed like all I could see were the negative aspects of living where we do.

Excessive drive-time to most places we wanted or needed to go, especially in “high season.”
Rentals beside and around us that see a constant influx of tourists.
HOA fees not only for our subdivision but also for the larger community we live in.
Long commutes for Gary when he travels to work 3-4 days each week.
Noisy landscapers, mowers, leaf blowers, and others on a regular basis.

When we first listed the house, I was thrilled. We were going to get out from under a mortgage and have more income to travel and experience life. We would be much closer to downtown, dad’s apartment, restaurants, work, and more. It was going to be awesome.

Then, shortly before our house sale fell through, we began to focus on all of the positive aspects of living where we do and realized we didn’t want to move. We didn’t want to sell. While we were willing to move closer to dad for his benefit, our hearts wanted to stay where we were.

Gratitude began to fill our hearts and minds, and we started to say things like, “We love this house. So glad the sale fell through. Our community is amazing. We’re so glad we get to stay right where we are. Thank you, God, for allowing us to keep our cozy home just the way it is.”

The more we spoke gratitude over our house, the more we loved and appreciated all of the positive aspects of it and our community. It felt like a veil had been lifted from our hearts and minds. Suddenly we were seeing more clearly all of the good things and reasons we moved here in the first place.

Then we wondered if God allowed us to walk the “home sale road” for a time to show us how very blessed we are right where we live. Maybe God was testing us to see if we would be willing to leave a house we love to live in an older, downsized condo to be near dad. Or maybe God simply wanted to teach us the power of a grateful heart.

I often feel like I should be an expert on gratitude. After all, I’ve written two books about it. But that doesn’t make me an expert. I’m still human and quite capable of grumbling like the Israelites did when they were hungry and thirsty in the desert. Then, manna wasn’t good enough. They wanted meat. And, well, you know how the story ended for them.

My prayer is that our stories end quite differently from theirs.

It’s simple, really. Gratitude changes our perspective, which changes our thoughts and feelings and the words that flow from our mouths. Our entire lives change because of one small but powerful shift in mindset.

Now, I wake up every day and thank God for giving me another day on earth. I thank Him for our wonderful home and our family and friends. I thank Him for our excellent church and community and for meaningful work that I am passionate about.

I praise Him for showing me how to be more loving and kinder, and I pray, “Lord, let me be a blessing to someone today.” Then I wait in expectation for what He will ask me to do to encourage, inspire, or help someone that day.

You are all reasons for me to be grateful too. I am blessed by your reading of my blog and newsletter, listening to my podcast, buying my books, and sharing all of these wonderful tools with those you know and love.

I am grateful for you.

And I have a FREE GIFT for you that I pray will bless you each day.

Gratitude List

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Discover simple, meaningful ways to cultivate a more grateful heart with this free downloadable list of 45 Daily Ways to Express Gratitude and Grace by Donna Wyland. Rooted in faith, encouragement, and everyday joy, this inspiring collection offers gentle reminders to slow down, embrace God’s blessings, love others well, and live with greater peace and purpose. Perfect for printing, journaling, or sharing with a friend who could use a little encouragement today.