Have a Grateful Heart for Everything That Happens In Your Life

Welcome to becoming wiser with Dr. Robert A. Rohm, author and world renowned public speaker, as he shares stories involving his experiences and lessons learned in a good, spirited, positive and fun way. Here's Dr. Robert A. Rome.

Well, most of you know that this time of year we're celebrating Thanksgiving. Someone taught me years ago that the two most important personal characteristics of that a person could have in their life are acceptance and gratitude. Acceptance simply means I accept the situation. I have found that the situation I'm in is trying to teach me something. It's trying to show me something, it's trying to help me in some particular way. So when we recognize that acceptance is an important part of life, we're able to move ahead. But the twin sister to acceptance is gratitude. See, we accept things, but we don't accept them in a bitter, hateful, unrealistic manner. But we accept them in a realistic manner, an attitude of gratitude. We accept situations and we learn to say, I'm grateful for this particular set of circumstances because it has come to help me. It has come to teach me something. It has come to help me to become the person I need to be. Well, I've lived long enough to know that there's always something for which you can be thankful. And because it's the time of year that we're celebrating Thanksgiving, I want to share with you one of the greatest stories I've ever heard in my life. I Learned this about 40 years ago, and it has been a guiding light for my own personal growth and development in the world of becoming wiser. That's what my whole theme in life is. Where I am is I want to become a wise sage, someone who knows how to do life, play the game of life, accept life on life's terms. Most of us are not going to get out of this life without learning how to play the game of life to some degree. And I have found that the more you cooperate with the lessons it's trying to teach you, the better off you are. So today's lesson is all about acceptance and gratitude, which boils down to the fact there is something for which we can all be thankful. So, as I mentioned, as most of you know, this week here in the United States, we're celebrating Thanksgiving and I wanted to share with you something that I learned many years ago. And basically it's this. Regardless of where you live and when you celebrate it, because I know it's celebrated at different times in other countries, it's good to have a thankful and grateful heart in everything that you do in life. And I have been reminded many, many times that in this life everything has to do with an attitude of gratitude. When a person has an attitude and a grateful heart, it seems to like, open up doors of opportunity for them that never would have been opened otherwise. Not many people who are bitter and ungrateful and hateful and full of anger have prospered very much in their life. But those who have learned to accept life on life's terms, to learn and grow through this situation, end up prospering. Someone once put it like this, if you are full of bitterness and anger and poison, you are going to be the one to suffer for it. But if you can learn to have a heart full of gratitude, an attitude of gratitude, then you will also be the one to prosper from it. Years ago, I heard the story of an Englishman by the name of Matthew Henry. He was a well known preacher and Bible scholar who lived from 1662 to 1714. His Exposition of the Old and the New Testament commentary is still in print to this very day. He was known for his practical application combined with the well sustained flow of English literature. Perhaps that's why his commentary is still one of the best works of its kind that is still in print today. One day, Matthew Henry was riding his horse through the woods. He was on his way to a church meeting where he was going to be the guest speaker. Suddenly, a masked bandit ran out of the woods with a gun in his hand and demanded that Matthew Henry get off his horse. Mr. Henry obeyed the robber as he knew it was a very dangerous situation. Even though he tried to talk to the man about God and spiritual matters, the bandit would hear none of it. He quickly took all of Matthew Henry's money and ran back into the woods. It all happened so quickly that Matthew Henry hardly had time to realize what had happened. Although he was now penniless, he got back on his horse and continued his journey.

His mind took him to the thought that we're supposed to give thanks in everything that happens to us. Actually, the Bible teaches we're supposed to be thankful or grateful in all things. Matthew Henry asked, God, how am I supposed to be thankful for being robbed? You can almost hear those words coming out of his mouth. As he continued on his way. Riding on his horse, the answer suddenly came to him. That night he told the audience about what had happened to him earlier in the day. He concluded his message by sharing the reason he could be thankful for what had happened to him. First he said, I am thankful. I have never been robbed before. Well, that was a Great way to start his message and to end the message that night. Second, I'm thankful he took my money and not my life.

What a good insight that is.

Third, I'm thankful he did not take more. He could have taken my horse and my clothes as well.

Or you can also.

Almost see the way his mind is shaping up to see things in a different light with a different perspective. Next, that I'm thankful that what I had stolen from me really did not amount to very much. Isn't that a great perspective to realize? Well, it really didn't amount to that much anyway. Then he said, I'm grateful that what I lost in time could all be replaced. Sure, he had lost some money, but in time it could be replaced. We all have the opportunity to earn some more of what we lost. And then he said, and this is the part that touched my heart so deeply over 40 years ago when I heard this. I can almost remember the seat I was in when I heard this story. The speaker said, Matthew Henry said, finally and most importantly, I'm thankful that I was the one robbed and not the robber. Now, isn't that a fantastic story? Isn't that a fantastic attitude of thankfulness and gratitude? I remember hearing that story years ago and thinking to myself, I want to be that kind of person now. Not that I want to put myself in harm's way and have somebody rob me. Not that I want to put myself in harm's way and constantly have bad things happen to me. But I want to be the kind of person that looks for the good, the pure and the positive in everything that happens in life. You see, if I believe that life was just a string of meaningless, random events that haphazardly happened to me, I would live in a constant state of depression. Well, just my luck. Well, just my lot in life. Well, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. We've all said that. I know I have. Well, rain, cats and dogs, and I got one with rabies. Well, it rained soup and all I had was a fork. I mean, can you imagine living your life in that kind of negative, bitter spirit? It destroys you when you hear that and you believe that.

You see, I believe that life has a way of teaching me what it wants me to know. If I will just learn to look for ways to have a grateful heart and to be thankful, I believe I'll find them, just as Matthew Henry did so long ago. Again, it's an attitude of gratitude that always carries the day. As he spoke that night and he shared from his heart I have found a way to be grateful for being robbed. And again, in the context of learning, there are always some ways to look for good.

Even when bad is taking place. During this time of Thanksgiving, I want to be the one to encourage you to look even at the most difficult, heartbreaking, gut wrenching situations that you may be facing right now. Learn to look for ways to have a grateful heart for what's taken place in your life during. During our darkest moments. I can assure you there's always good that can come out of it, even though the activity or the thing at the moment may not be very good. I'm reminded the last time I was in Israel, our God, his name was Moshe, a derivative of the name of Moses. But Moshe told us, you know, the Holocaust in the 1940s was a terrible thing, he said, yet remember, out of it came the nation of Israel. Without the Holocaust, we would have never had a homeland and a nation for our people. Now, you see, no one would say that killing 6 million Jewish people was a good thing. It was a horrible thing. But out of it someone said, we must prevent this from ever happening again. The Jewish people have no homeland. And out of it arose gold in my ear and David Ben Gurion and others who found the nation of Israel. In May of 1948.

They started their nation again. And out of the horribleness of what happened at the end of World War II and the Holocaust and the freedom that was experienced when the American troops were able to bring a decisive end to the war and free people who had been in concentration camps, who had been in horrible conditions, out of that was born a brand new nation, a nation of Israel that's still going strong today. You see, that's what I'm talking about. That's the attitude of gratitude. I cannot completely control what happens to me or to anyone else, but I can control how I respond to those things. I don't know about you, but I've discovered that having a thankful heart is really the basis for everything good that happens in my life. And it has opened doors of opportunity that I never could have imagined otherwise. You see, having a attitude of gratitude. Remember how I started this time? Remember how I started by saying, learn to have a attitude of acceptance. That's what's happened to me and I accept it. I'm not necessarily happy about it, I'm not necessarily thrilled with it, but I'm going to accept it because that is what has happened. And now I'm going to look into it and see how I could develop a thankful heart. An attitude of gratitude. Looking at it that way, I promise you will open doors of opportunity in the future. It's Thanksgiving. Who would have ever thought, many, many years ago, some of our forefathers trying to develop a nation, they didn't have running water, they didn't have air conditioning, they didn't have planes or cars or many other of the conveniences of life. Yet they started. They started a new nation. And out of it, over the decades, over the centuries, we now enjoy just about every convenience in life. I am so thankful for those who have gone before us and who have paved the way for us to have a better life, an easier life, a more successful life. I'm thankful for them. I'm thankful for you. This time of Thanksgiving, just learn. Remember an attitude of gratitude. Can you imagine being around someone all the time who is positive, upbeat, learning to look for the good, the pure and the positive, learning to look for? I know this is a tough situation. Maybe something good will come from it. And you being the person realistically to lead in that endeavor, I promise you, you will be the kind of person everyone wants to be around. We all love to be around people who are optimistic and try to find the good in almost any situation. I want to be that kind of person. And I'm sure you do, too. Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you'll always be a person full of gratitude and full of thanksgiving of everything that happens in life. I'm Dr. Robert Rome. I look forward to our next time together.

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