The November Intentional Gratitude Challenge is wrapping up and I have to say that I am grateful for this challenge. During this month there were more than a few days when I was struggling to feel grateful, but I knew that I needed to find some aspect of my life to write about. I knew that I couldn't just write I was grateful for the Chai tea I had for breakfast, it might have been true, but there just isn't a lot I can say about a beverage. Anyways this challenge was wonderful for combating those days when I just couldn't think of something.
The reality is that for most of us there are a handful of things that we can be grateful for nearly every day. These are health, the breath in our lungs, clothing, shelter, transportation, employment, food, and drink. There is also family and friendship. Nearly every day most of us can be thankful for more than a few of these items. I say nearly every day because there are days when our health is failing or we don't have employment, but even on those days we have something else to be grateful for. Even on the worst of days, if we are still breathing, we have something to be thankful for and for Christians we have even more to be grateful for because our salvation is settled in Jesus Christ.
I know that being grateful isn't easy. It is honestly so much easier to find the negative and be ungrateful or frustrated, but that isn't how God wants us to live. For me I know that I need to be intentionally grateful or I will just stay in this place of discontentment. If this is the case for you too, then I suggest that you make yourself a list of everything you can be grateful for on a consistent basis, like shelter, so that you have that visual reminder on those days when you are struggling. I write down 3 things I am grateful for in that day, but there are days that are just so frustrating that I do struggle to find the blessing in that day and sometimes the only thing I write is "I survived" and I think that is reason enough to be grateful for. A visual reminder of all the things you already have to be grateful for is great for these days.
As I said at the beginning of this challenge, we shouldn't just be intentionally grateful in the month of November, but rather we should be grateful all year long. Gratitude is a virtue that should be regularly practiced. What are you thankful for today?
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