A Thankful Heart
It is true that an attitude of gratitude can shift our mood and perspective. We each have many things to be thankful for. But we each have our share of struggles and sorrows. There are days (or weeks) where it is hard to acknowledge things to be thankful for.
Sophia recognized this in her own life. In the month before she died at the school she was attending for cosmetology, her first hour prof had the class doing a grateful journal. This was at 7:30 am and Sophia was NOT a morning person! She wrote in some typical things like a car to drive to and from school, her new job that provided tuition money, the free French vanilla latte she got at Holiday, those breathe-right nose strips that help her sleep at night. Other entries were more real and honest:
“I’m thankful for extroverted people. I’m not one of them but I need them in my life.”
“Today I’m thankful for free will, even though I don’t have it right now because I’m being forced to write about what I’m thankful for.”
“I’m thankful I took the day off yesterday. I needed to rest and have a mental health day. Now I feel like I am ready to take on the week.”
“I’m so sick of writing about things I’m grateful for. Sometimes I don’t want to be all rainbows and butterflies. I am tired. Life just consists of school, work and sleep. And today we are waxing and I’m so nervous. I gotta let someone practice eyebrow waxing for the first time on my beautiful brows?! Sounds about right.”
Life is full of circumstances that we cannot control. In any given moment, things could be better and things could be worse. It’s all about how we choose to respond to our current circumstance.
Making the choice to be thankful—to find something (no matter how small) to rejoice about—has the power to shift our heart attitude. This choice is not always easy. I have found myself struggling with this recently. It feels like if I have a thankful attitude, it means I need to be ok with the pain and heartache of the hard stuff. It goes against my human nature.
God talks about this “sacrifice of thanksgiving” in His Word. God recognizes the struggle and encourages us to make the choice to be thankful in all our circumstances. (Leviticus 22:29; Psalm 50:14, 23; Psalm 107:22) His desire is to turn our sorrows into joy but we are the ones who have to make the choice/the sacrifice to respond with thanksgiving. And each time we do, it becomes easier until we discover we feel better, we get outside of our own circumstances and we truly do experience joy.
The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!
Psalm 50:23
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
1 Chronicles 16:34; Psalm 107:1