Intentionally Grateful

I don’t think it’s too bold to say that this time of year brings a lot of natural flowing gratitude into our lives. Whether it’s a forced prerequisite to having a slice of turkey, or a natural overflow of cheer that the season brings.  Whatever it may be, whatever your holiday season may look like, it’s a wonderful time of the year to reflect and give thanks to God for the blessings in our lives.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I find myself in seasons where the gratitude isn’t flowing effortlessly. To find a list of three things that I’m grateful for in those seasons feels like I’m attempting to solve world hunger. It’s labored, challenging and often discouraging. Even though we know that we live in a broken world and are told that ‘in this world, there will be trials’, it still can be very discouraging to find ourselves in challenging seasons.

So how do you show up with gratitude even in the midst of a winter season? When life isn’t in your favor and things aren’t going according to your plans?

Paul says to the church in Philippi, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again; Rejoice! Let your gentleness to evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always. Paul says it twice with an emphasis on the word rejoice the second time around.  How do we rejoice always? How do we rejoice in the Lord when we are faced with unbearable circumstances? How do we see any good when our whole worlds are falling apart right in front of us?

Paul answers our question by telling us to bring our requests to God in prayer with supplication and thanksgiving. He doesn’t say to wait until things are starting to look better in your life to then express your gratitude. He says to always rejoice and to always pray with supplication and thanksgiving.

So, how do we muster up the strength to seek out gratitude when the circumstances are undesirable? Or even when they are unbearable? What about when we are so exhausted from the daily demands of our lives and workload that we can’t even see an hour in front of ourselves?

Well, my friends, I would encourage you to join me in the practice of intentional gratitude. For some it’s more natural than others to have the mindset of thankfulness. So, give yourself grace if it takes you much longer than others to adopt this practice. I know for me; it’s going to be a long journey that will need constant refinement. But I hope that we can be on this journey together as we pursue a practice that will deepen our relationship with God.

If you don’t have a journal that you are in love with or you are seeking a new resource, check out my free

gratitude journal to help you establish the daily rhythm of seeking out gratitude!

So, why practice gratitude?

Well, if you haven’t caught on yet, I love researching and looking deeper into things. My inquisitive mind rarely rests and accepts a standard answer. I want to know the why.

Did you know that there have been research studies done that show when a person displays consistent gratitude, they develop more grey matter in their brain? That when that same person displays consistent anxiety and depression, that grey matter starts to disappear. It physically changes the contents in our brain to simply express gratitude.

Another fun fact is that we express gratitude, our brain releases a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical that send messages to both our brain and our bodies. It affects things such as sleep, memory, mental health and pleasure. 

The power that Dopamine holds is remarkable. If you are looking for a good read, I would highly recommend reading Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke. I honestly was unaware of the power and pull that this chemical has on us, until I was educated by Anna.  

My point in all of this is that it physically changes our bodies to be thankful and express our gratitude. God knows that as He is the one who created our bodies to function in such a way. That’s why he told us to not be anxious about anything but to present our requests to God by prayer and petition with thanksgiving.

“Thankfulness is not some sort of magic formula; it is the language of Love, which enables you to communicate intimately with me. A thankful mind-set does not entail a denial of reality with its plethora of problems. Instead, it rejoices in Me, your Savior, in the midst of trials and tribulations” Jesus Calling, November 22.

Remember my friends, it’s the little things in life that end up being the big things. Let us find moments in our day to pause and give thanks to the One who gave them to us. We are so undeserving, yet so grateful!