Don't take for granted what The Most High has given you. Gratitude is everything.
Gratitude is appreciating what you have right in front of you.
If you're anything like me, then you hate relying on a single source for communication and interaction. Nowadays, meaningful connections are made more virtually than in person. And that's something that I truly hate about this age of technology. I love how convenient it is, but I hate how it strips away true engagement. My relationship began online. Yawitazah and I's working relationship, friendship, and romantic relationship developed on Zoom, WhatsApp, and FaceTime. Who would've thought? The man of my dreams found me within the 0s and 1s. How romantic! After many months of relying solely on virtual interactions, I was ready to spend real face time. And my prayer was finally answered. He lived in Philadelphia, and I lived in Greensboro at the time; so any opportunity to be together in person was always appreciated. The worst part of that period in time was when we had to separate and return back to our virtual love connection. I hated it! Of course I loved talking with him and spending time, but phone time just wasn't the same as face time. And it made me not even want to talk somedays. But still to this day, I'm appreciative of his patience and grace through those days.
Lacking gratitude will have The Most High remove things from you.
Back in April 2023, Yawitazah had the pleasure of accompanying two other elders to Liberia for a trip on behalf of The United Nation of Yisrael. He had a mighty journey ahead of him and I was super excited and proud of him for what he was embarking upon. From JFK, to Morocco, to Liberia, I waited by the phone excited to hear of his safe arrival. Once he made it to Morocco, I was able to speak with him and actually video chat for a while. You won't believe how happy I was about that! What a turn of events. He had one more flight left to go and he would finally reach Liberia. Once again, I waited by the phone to await his safe arrival in the Motherland. It seemed like hours went by and I hadn't heard a thing. I checked the status of the flight searching for answers. Why was it taking so long to hear from him? Do I have the times mixed up? How long was the flight? I was going through every possibility as to why I hadn't heard anything. Did something happen to the plane? Did it CRASH?! There's no way! This relationship is so new and so good, please YAH don't take him from me yet. As you can see, I was going through emotional and mental turmoil without being able to hear from him.
Then finally, I received a message from Elder Shamayah - - they had landed safely, but you wouldn't believe what happened. Not even two stops in from landing, Yawitazah lost his phone. I. Was. So. Annoyed! How could he lose his phone when he's halfway across the world? How was I to keep in touch? I was grateful that he was safe, but sad that I wouldn't be able to talk to him as frequently as I wanted. Not only did he not have his phone, his only methods of communication were on his iPad if he had wifi, or Elder Shamayah's phone if he had decent phone reception. Other than that, complete silence. That was probably the toughest part of that for me. I was so used to being able to talk to Yawitazah as frequently (or infrequently) as I wanted, but now, I was at the mercy of phone usage and reception. Then it dawned on me. All of those times when I didn't want to talk on the phone or engage in real conversation, now I found myself praying for those opportunities. I realized that I had taken him for granted.
Gratitude is reciprocal.
Although Yawitazah would've rather been with me versus having to talk to me through phones and tablets, he still appreciated every moment we had together, whether virtual or face-to-face. And in those two weeks of being so far away from him, I learned that gratitude is reciprocal. I have to reflect all of his wonderful qualities, and gratitude is one of them. He never complained about our circumstances or lacked empathy or engagement during those times. He never let those temporary situations defy our special moments. And today, I can truly say that I learned how important it is to appreciate the blessings The Most High has given you. He doesn't have to give you anything, so how dare you complain about how it comes to you. Needless to say, once Yawitazah returned back to the U.S. and got a new phone, I was so happy to be able to talk to him again! I didn't care how long it would be before we could be in person again. I was just happy and grateful to be able to speak with him. Don't make The Most High have to remove what you love from your life because of your lack of gratitude. Instead, never let a moment pass that you aren't grateful and watch how He blesses your situation because of it.
Watch The Israelite Girl's Guide Season 2 Episode 7 | The Importance of Gratitude
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