There are a lot of negative things happening in our world right now. We don’t have to look very far to find something. However, despite a lot of things not going the right way or the way we wish they would, it is still possible to focus on growing in gratitude while still fighting for justice and truth to prevail.
Thanksgiving is a time to slow down and focus on our blessings. It’s easy to be thankful when life is easy. When things get challenging, being grateful becomes more difficult. It’s important that we choose to turn our eyes back on God and live in gratitude for his many blessings. We all need to do our best to focus on our blessings even in the midst of life’s storms not just on Thanksgiving but every day.
There is such a lack of gratitude in this country. We live in a “me, myself, and I” culture. On a daily basis we see this lack of gratitude all around us. In a recent Washington Times article, Don Feder sums it up best.
“We’re losing Thanksgiving because we’ve lost a sense of the Divine. As more and more Americans become secular, we’re becoming a people who’ve forgotten how to say thank you — not just to God, but to each other. But it starts with God.”
Let’s make it a point to work on improving this! We can start by incorporating gratitude into our own lives on a regular basis. Remember that gratitude isn’t something to save only for “the big stuff.” We develop an “attitude of gratitude” by appreciating every good thing in life and thanking God even for the small things.
Gratitude is powerful. It helps us to cope and heal. It brings us together, gives us perspective, builds character, inspires patience, helps us to see the meaning in each moment and deepens the meaning of our lives. Being thankful (towards God and one another) allows us to live each day with greater purpose.
Being thankful doesn’t always come easy especially when we are being hit right and left with so much pain and the downright nonsense we are surrounded by. However, we still need to practice gratitude even when we don’t “feel” it. We can be aware of things without “feeling” them. For example, if you have just experienced something really horrible, you’re not necessarily going to feel thankful for your blessings. You can, however, still be aware of them. Make it a practice to think about your blessings (big and small) on a daily basis. Take some time to thank God for them.
The first Thanksgiving came after a period of difficult trials and suffering for the Pilgrims. Many of them died when they came to this new world and the adjustment to a very different and harsh land was difficult to say the least. Yet, they persevered and remained thankful for everything they had achieved and for everything they had been given. Their crisis probably made them even more thankful for what they had. All too easily how much people have sacrificed and suffered in order to build this county and how people continue to sacrifice and suffer to maintain the freedoms we enjoy in this country.
Despite uncertainty and turmoil, there is a lot of good to fight for, so let us continue to persevere. Let us have faith and never lose hope. And let us never cease to be grateful – grateful for our blessings, for one another, and for all that we have accomplished personally and as a nation.
Among many other things, this year I am especially grateful for the Ruth Institute and for this growing community. I want to tell you, my readers, how grateful I am for you. I am grateful that you are here, not just here reading this blog, but here on this earth. Each one of you is so precious. Whether you realize it or not, you have so much to offer this world. God created you (yes, you!) for a special purpose. I pray that you will never forget how special you are. Each one of you is needed. I am so very grateful that God created each and every one of you!
May you be blessed this Thanksgiving and always.
