Thanksgiving, 2023

My inner attitude about gratitude changed ten years ago when I read a book entitled "1000 Gifts"   It was written by Ann Voskamp and if any book has had a transforming power in my life, it is this one.  I have recommended the book to many people and given it to several as a gift.  On a more superficial level it caused me to start what I call a "Gratitude Journal" where blessings for which I am grateful are listed.  She did a list of 1000 in a year.  I have not yet reached that mark.  The reason is not a lack of gratitude, but a lack of discipline.   

At a deeper level she both inspired me and enabled me to live with a deeper sense of thanksgiving.  When I read a verse like Ephesians 5:20 which says, "giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ," or I Thessalonians 5:18 which says, "give thanks in all circumstances...," it makes more sense than it did before reading the book.  Living a life filled with gratitude is possible and it begins with being aware of how we are blessed.     

There have been some rough spots along the way in these past ten years with the last one being one of the roughest of my life, but what I have learned through the years of practicing gratitude is that if we look at the edge of the darkness which is overwhelming us we will start seeing things for which we can be grateful.  It may be a prayer being offered, a dish of food being delivered, or a caring word being spoken, but if we look out there on the edge we will see those things that cause us to be thankful.  And the more we look to the edge of the darkness, the more we begin to see things for which to be grateful even in the core of the darkness.  I again thank Ann Voskamp for the teaching in her book and I again thank the Holy Spirit for staying with me and teaching me hard truths in difficult and dark places.