Gratitude: Finding Beauty in Life’s Messy Moments
At Crowning Glory, we believe beauty goes beyond what we see in the mirror. True beauty is rooted in the heart—through kindness, grace, and gratitude. As a Christian-based salon, we often find that God uses the everyday moments—whether it’s a conversation with a client or even an unexpected plumbing mishap—to remind us of His goodness and provision.
In today’s world, it’s easy to be swept away by stress and distraction, but we believe every moment offers an opportunity to pause, reflect, and give thanks. We invite you to take a moment with us today as we reflect on this powerful word: Gratitude.
Gratitude. Such a simple word in the scheme of things, but between blaring news reports and the crazy everyday chaos of life, it somehow seems to lose its meaning. When difficulties arise, and it feels like life is tossing us like waves in the sea, that simple word gratitude can be swept under the rug like the little crumbs our children leave behind at dinnertime. The word gratitude is defined in the dictionary as the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. In moments when our lives are turned upside down, nothing in that definition seems feasible and at the minimum possible. Or does it?
Gratitude is not just in our actions or what we say, it’s a choice we make. The Hebrew word for gratitude is hakarat hatov and it literally means, “recognizing the good.” If we can choose to recognize the good in our lives even amongst the difficulties, our perception will change. We will begin to see things take shape in ways we have not experienced before.
Recently, we experienced something in the salon that took us down the road of gratitude. One busy Saturday, the toilet began to bubble. We quickly realized it was clogged. No matter what we did, nothing was unclogging this toilet. It was time to call a plumber. I wasn’t sure how bad the clog was, but I refused to be upset about it. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
I had a choice. I could wallow in self-pity and worry or choose to recognize the good in my situation. After an entire weekend of plumbers, phone calls and city workers, they were able to blast out the rocks that were in the main pipe which was causing the toilet to clog. Best part of all? It didn’t cost a dime to fix.
What rocks in your life are keeping you from recognizing the good? No amount of complaints or worries are going to add up to how much of a gift it is to choose to look at your circumstances with a heart of gratitude. So grab your favorite drink, rock that messy hair day and take a moment to contemplate on how much we all have to be grateful for today.