This morning’s “Jesus Calling” devotional used the word, “cultivate” to describe the process of growing gratitude in our hearts. “CULTIVATE a thankful heart, for this glorifies Me and fills you with joy.” Got me thinking about what it takes to “cultivate” my physical garden, wooing life out of dry ground. Definitely gotta start with breaking up the wintered solid soil with a pick ax! Heart-wise, this is bringing old resentments and disappointments to God for softening and acceptance. Hard work. Letting go of my plan to embrace His. Blisters often ensue. So on go the gloves. Gutsy honesty that doesn’t get stuck at griping or groaning. Soul begins to soften, receptive to new seeds. Fertilizer is added to restore the nutrients needed for life to blossom.  “Count your many blessings, name them one by one!”  Mechanical at first, but as this fertilizer refreshes the earth, the potential for gratitude enriches exponentially! Seeds are carefully placed with faith-filled expectation. Faith that God, the Master Gardener, will call forth life where there appears to be just a tiny hard speck that looks nothing like what you aspire to grow. Water, drenching that ground with hydrating hope, and exposure to sunlight, (or Sonlight), photosynthesizing the mystery of the chemical conversion of carbon dioxide into life-giving oxygen! (Toxic disappointments and distrust morphing into oxygenated gratitude and beauty!) Yes, “cultivating” is a good word! An active work with an end goal! But the results are a blooming garden that truly does “glorify You and fills us (and others) with joy!”