The best illustration of gratitude I know lies in the story of Louis Braille. Louis was the son of a French shoemaker. One day, his father, working at his bench with Louis underfoot, dropped a sharp instrument known as an awl from the table. It hit the boy in the eye and caused him to go blind.
In those days, teaching the blind was done with wooden blocks and raised letters, a very cumbersome method. After Louis grew up, he used the instrument that had blinded him to devise a system of punching holes in paper, so other blind people could learn to read by a simpler method. He had turned his own misfortune into a beautiful instrument to benefit others.
The lesson for me is that when something bad happens, I should not respond with “Why me, God?” Rather, I should pray, “Now that this has happened to me, show me how to use it.”