Thankfulness During
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Happy November! It’s the season of thankfulness and gratitude. But are you really feeling like that? Are you living thankful? Or are you living with a to do list, a running clock, and a schedule on the brain. Most of us are, but the incredible thing is these two things can exist together. We can be thankful amidst our to do list. We jus have to choose to do so. And often it’s just a different attitude. I’ve read books about thankfulness tha are always encouraging, but ultimately it’s about my choice. It’s how I wake up in the mornings. It’s how I choose to think. It’s the words I choose to speak. It’s in the way I love my husband. It’s in the way I cook dinner or run errands. It’s in the way I try to get my 3 month old to nap. It’s in the way I see myself. Am I truly thankful? Does my life reflect that?
Take today to focus on thankfulness. Think about what is easy to be thankful for. Think about what is hard to be thankful for. And then find those small moments that you can choose thankfulness amidst the circumstance. The more you are filled with gratitude the more you are filled with love.
So don’t just be thankful when it’s convenient. be thankful when it’s hard. Be thankful when it doesn’t make sense. Because choosing to be thankful in the not so convenient times will change your attitude about a lot of other things. It’s an upside down perspective. Of course you can be thankful for family and friends. But can you be thankful for that fifth diaper you’ve changed, that kid that doesn’t want to go to sleep, the burnt toast, or the extra stoplight? It might not make sense, but see what you can find in those small moments. See if thankfulness makes you smile instead of get mad or say something you will regret. And see if that smile can brighten someone else’s day.
“The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world.”
Ann Voskamp
bethany