Attitude of Gratitude

“What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?”

This bookstore sign stopped me in my slow, browsing tracks. Reading it now, Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” rings in my ears.

“Don't it always seem to go

That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?.”

I mean, I know God doesn’t work like this. Thank goodness He is so merciful (uh - see? gratitude right there!!). However, how does that message help to...

...expand the scope of my gratitude?

...affect the depth of my gratitude?

...intensify my gratitude practice?

When contemplating my core values last January, gratitude came to mind right away. “Attitude of gratitude” is a mantra our daughters heard often as they were growing up. I believe it only makes sense that if you are busy counting blessings, there’s not a lot of space for discontent.

Gratitude is more than a personal conviction, though. It is also a biblical imperative. The psalms alone are seasoned with dozens of gratitude statements.

One of my favourite psalms is Psalm 100. Verses 6 and 7 read:

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

There are many ways to practice gratitude. Many people (yep, I did it too!) explored gratitude journals along with Oprah in the 1990’s. You simply take a quiet moment at the close of each day to reflect on 5 things you are grateful for.

When reading Daring to Hope recently (a great read, by the way!), author Katie Davis Majors started writing messages of gratitude on sticky notes and posting them on her kitchen wall. In the process, she not not only ended up with a literal wallpaper of recognized blessings, it also helped heal her heart from a season of deep personal loss.

There are obvious things we say we are thankful for when asked… family… health… employment… These are BIG blessings from a God who does BIG things. But what Oprah and Katie (and I) know is that it is important to thank God for small blessings as well, for He is also a God of detail. Eating cold melon on a bench in the sun. (Oprah) Sticky lollipops and quick apologies. (Katie)

I believe that when life’s circumstances are particularly challenging (like, say... during a pandemic!), it’s the precious little blessings that remind us God is still close at hand. They can be so easy to miss, but so important to see.

May every day be a day of Thanksgiving!