Grateful for the Glass

Yesterday, I finished a wonderful book series called The Walk Series by Richard Paul Evans.

There are five books in the series, and they are written as if you are reading the diary of a man as he walks across America after losing everything in his life.

He meets a lot of interesting people on his walk and learns about forgiveness, hope, healing, love, and a lot of other things.

One young woman he meets particularly caught my attention because of one thing she said. As they walk together for a while, she explains how she has been in and out of foster care and is on her own now. She grew up in an abusive home and had a lot of challenges in her life.

Yet, as they talk and as he gets to know her, she is a very happy, hopeful person who prays in gratitude to God every night and comes up with a lot of ridiculously punny jokes. :)

The one thing she said that caught my attention was after she shares her story and Alan (the main character) says something along the lines of, "You're one of those people who sees the glass as half full, aren't you?"

She replies, "I'm just grateful for the glass."

Bam.

I don't know why this line was so powerful for me, but I had never thought about the glass of water analogy in that way before. What if, instead of looking at the glass and judging it as half full or half empty, we were just grateful that there is a glass to hold our water in?

I know I'm not alone in having challenges, and for me, this year has been a bumpy road where I've been tempted to see the glass has half empty or even totally empty. After reading The Walk Series, I gained a lot of insights including the importance of gratitude.

Regardless of how much water I have in my glass, I'm grateful to have a glass to put it in. A constant in my life I can always rely on.

You may disagree with what I'll say next, but as I thought about what the glass could be in my life, I came to the conclusion, that the glass represents my relationship with God.

I believe in a God who is my Father in Heaven and who is aware of all the challenges I face. He knows when I feel sadness, fear and heartache. He also knows when I feel happiness, joy, and healing.

God is always there for me regardless of what I've done or how I feel. Just like the glass is always there regardless of how much water is in it. God listens to my prayers and no matter what else is happening in my life, He is the one constant I can turn to.

I believe that God is also there for you. You might not believe in God, and you might feel like you don't have any water left; but, remember that there is someone who loves you and who is watching out for you.

*Note: All credit goes to Richard Paul Evans for the quotes I shared from his book.