Grace In Gratitude
Thanksgiving has come and gone. Retailers’ color palettes have morphed from brown, orange and yellow to the Christmas colors of red, green and gold. Last Thursday’s whispered “thanks” around dining room tables and across living rooms across the country has been replaced with Christmas trees and angels, carols and holiday plans for ongoing celebrations well into the new year. Thanksgiving is now just a turkey carcass in a boiling soup pot, a hazy memory of culinary bliss, a fading exhaustion of yet one more holiday checked off the list for 2023.
I was physically and emotionally overwhelmed in the two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving with the sheer abundance of food in grocery stores and food markets. Produce bins were piled 4 feet high with all manner of produce; refrigerated cases groaned under the weight of hundreds of turkeys, frozen or fresh, packaged and prepared in a wide variety of ways: organic or seasoned or plumped up with “natural juices”. End cap displays were artfully arranged with every possible grocery item one might need for an “American Thanksgiving”, including canned goods of every variety (in case one wanted to recreate the revered 1960’s Thanksgiving tradition of green bean casserole and pumpkin pie). The sheer abundance available in American grocery stores seemed almost obscene when I contrasted it with the stark reality of war, hardship, hunger and suffering that is daily life in many other parts of the world; and yes - even in areas of our own nation.
Of course, there were many who gave thanks with sincere hearts, who shared their abundance with those less fortunate, who used the day as an opportunity to reach out to a community of those less fortunate and demonstrate a heart of gratitude with actions of giving and generosity. You see, I think it is important to seek to understand why gratitude and giving thanks is so critical to a vital spiritual life.
There’s been much written about gratitude; some are pithy quotes intended to spark a social media ‘like”; others are ancient and true, proven over the centuries to be wise in showing what heart-felt gratitude is and what it can be. But I don’t want to spend these precious moments to simply spout off a platitude to remind us to “give thanks”; I want to uncover what I sincerely believe happens in our hearts when we are truly grateful, when we practice an ongoing and daily pursuit of gratitude.
I have come to believe (and I have personally experienced this) that gratitude is not just a schmaltzy sentiment expressed once a year around a laden dining room table, or a fleeting “thanks” upon the receipt of a gift or service rendered. Gratitude is more than a Hallmark card - far more.
Gratitude is a decision I make, a mind-set that draws a line in the sand and states with full and conscious intention that I am going to be grateful for everything I have. Yes. Every. Thing. Gratitude cannot be relegated to only when everything is going my way,, when abundance and plenty surrounds me on every side, when I’m getting everything I want. That kind of gratitude is flimsy, shallow, fleeting… and does nothing to or for my soul. Gratitude expressed only in the good times is - I believe - revelatory of a basic immaturity, a child-like wonder at life that won’t last when the going gets rough, when the odds are stacked against you.
Being able to be truly grateful when a loved one dies, or when a job is suddenly gone, or when a terminal diagnosis is pronounced, or when a family is shattered by divorce sounds ridiculous. Seriously? What’s to be thankful for in those situations? Certainly, if I give thanks only when the good times roll, it does seem outrageous to give thanks when life happens, when I’m down and out. But the wondrous thing about living with ongoing gratitude, though, is that I can see through the darkness of the moment to a reason to be grateful even in the worst of times: the sweet memories of how that loved one made me smile or her wacky sense of humor which always brought joy; the ability to recognize that the lost job has taught me what NOT to do in the next one. Being thankful in the face of the most difficult of circumstances expands my heart to embrace all that life has to offer - the difficult and tragic and painful as well as the good and the joyful.
Impossible, you say. No way, you think. Crazy woman! and you know it … right? Well. Maybe - but I have seen the golden lining that is encapsulated with each intentional stance of gratitude regardless of the circumstance: the golden gift of grace. God’s great gift to us in the face of our gratitude in all things is the grace to walk through that difficult time, that war-torn landscape that is our heart, to sift through our personal detritus of failures and heartaches and disappointments. A lifestyle of gratitude brings abundant and unending grace and changes us from the inside out:
The grace to be grateful is given only when we choose to be grateful - no matter the circumstance. And with that grace, our hearts begin to heal. With that grace, our eyes are opened to other gifts and opportunities and we are set free to love more, to see more completely, to live more fully - and yes, to get even more grace. With each step taken in gratitude, God gives us the grace to continue our journey regardless of circumstances.
Gratitude shifts the focus away from our pain, and opens our hearts to God’s love, giving us the wisdom to see that no matter the circumstance, there is always something to be grateful for, and in return, God provides us with a tangible grace that we can embrace and hold on to through any storm.
Choosing to be grateful in all things shifts your mind and heart into a place that is far more acutely aware of God’s ongoing blessings. Focusing on gratitude will give you a life-perspective that will shift your stance into a place of grateful receiving, no matter what is happening in your world.
When we are grateful in and for all things, our peace and joy no longer depend upon life’s circumstances, but come from deep within, from a wellspring of grace that is constantly being renewed by our choice to be grateful, no matter what.
A lifestyle of gratitude will change your heart, free your mind and bring you joy. It will change your life. Give thanks no matter what, and see what happens.