Deep Losses Can Lead To Deep Gratitude

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.

-Psalm 18:16, NIV

Like violent water rushing down a channel, harsh circumstances can serve as the means to deepen our hearts and expand their capacity.

Losses are huge for divorced faithful spouses. The loss of “friendships,” love, money, memories, security, and the marriage to name a few.

Yet in those losses come a gift.

This gift is a reminder of how fleeting these things were in reality. It is the reminder that having such things one day says nothing about having them the next.

I have come out of my divorce a more grateful man.

For what I have today, I give thanks to God. I am constantly blown away by Our Heavenly Father’s generosity. It is a generosity in my life that is very rich, indeed.

I know what it is like to be jobless. So, I appreciate the nice job that I have today.

I know what it is like to be married to someone who treated me with cruelty. So, I appreciate the friend I have in Mrs. DM all that more.

I know what it is to lose hope of ever being a father after the ending of a marriage. So, I appreciate and cherish being Munchkin’s daddy.

And I could go on…

Yes, the losses were deep and painfully real. The violent waters of destruction rushed through the channel of my heart.

But those waters did not only just “take.” They left behind a heart deepened and ready to receive with gratitude even greater blessings.

AND MAY IT BE THE SAME WITH YOU!