Dear God
Today it is day 2 of 21days of gratitude and thanksgiving.
I just want to thank you for all you have done for me and everything you have taught me since I was a little girl. I believe that every person I crossed paths with was from you Lord and they have all nurtured me in one way or another. You love me beyond human comprehension. You have made it known to me that I am special and irreplaceable to You. You were there for me in a time when no one else was. Even though I may be suffering through many things in life, I understand that you put them there so I have the opportunity to grow. Whenever I ask for help, you give it to me. You put angels in my path when I need them the most. You open doors that no man can shut; Your light and presence go before me, and there are not any words to describe the gratitude I feel for that.
On this day I want to thank you for allowing me to grow up to be a lady of good character. Though I am not perfect and have many weaknesses,You continue to work on me and through me to develop me in all facets of life. I want to appreciate you God for everyone that has raised me to day. My mum and dad, my tete, my maiguru, my grandmother, my sister and my spiritual parents. I have no doubt that You brought the best agents into my life to nurture me and to teach me life and its complexities.
“Character can be defined as a collection of personality traits within our behavior that shows who we are.” This is seen in our integrity, attitudes, moral fibre, disposition, and how we treat those around us. Although this is true, character has to go much deeper than that. Character and integrity go hand and hand. One cannot be a person of character without integrity which can simply be defined as doing the right thing even when nobody is watching. This is a very strong quality that can take a person far in life.
I understand Lord that character is influenced by personal choices. Moreover, You build our character in the circumstances of our lives. You do this as we experience situations in which we are tempted to do the exact opposite of what character looks like. Character development has always involved choices.
After all has been said and done, I want to thank you Lord for guiding me to make the right choices. When I make the right choices my character grows and I become more like Christ.
I ask you Lord to speak to each and every individual that will come across this letter and continue to work through them as we all develop to be people of character.
I believe that the basis of Christian character is found in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.” If we are to develop a Christ-like character, we will need these qualities in our lives. Whenever we choose to respond to a situation in God’s way instead of following our natural direction, we develop character. Life brings all kinds of opportunities: conflict, disappointment, challenges, delays, and so on. As we are faced with life’s challenges on a daily, help us Lord todecide how to act as our actions become our habits and our habits become our character.
Thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives, thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over us. Forgive us for when we don’t thank you enough, for who You are, for all that You do, for all that You have given. Help us to set our eyes and our hearts on You afresh. Renew our spirits; fill us with your peace and joy. I pray Lord that the power of the Holy Spirit may continue its work within us to develop our character. We love you and we need you, this day and every day. We give you praise and thanks, for You alone are worthy!
Ps: I have read the book by John Yates titled “Raising kids with character that lasts.” I pray Lord that you equip me to raise kids of character, both physiscally and spiritually as I work in Your Kingdom.
Your firm believer
Emma Makozho
Emma's Blog 