Today it is a special day to remember all of our blessings and what we are thankful for. It is easy to focus on that thankfulness since this is the day set aside to do that. And I am so glad that we have a day devoted to just that.
But what happens after today? Do we jump head first into the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparation? Do we carry the thankfulness attitude with us going forward or does it get lost and somehow put in the corner until next November? Our answer is that we will NOT forget to be thankful every day but reality says that we slowly become accustomed to our blessings and we forget to be thankful. At least that’s what I’ve experienced.
So to keep that thankfulness going, I have a challenge for us all. For the next 30 days – until December 24th, I encourage you to get a piece of paper or a journal and write down something each day that you are thankful for. This exercise, though, is for the deeper things that we are thankful for; things that are beyond what our heart already knows we are thankful for. We know we are thankful for family, friends, food, shelter, clothing, etc. I’m talking about things that we tend to overlook.
Things like: “I am thankful that I didn’t hit a deer on my way home in the dark, rainy night.” Or “thank you Lord for the parking space right near the door on Black Friday shopping :)” . Look around for things that are unusual that you can write down. You may even want to get a jar and each day write on a slip of paper and place that thankful thought into the jar.
Then on New Year’s Eve bring out the journal or the slips of paper in the jar and remember all of the extra special thankful thoughts you had during that 30-day challenge. You can always feel free to send me an email sharing your thoughts as well at [email protected]. Who knows? Maybe you will enjoy this thankful exercise so much you will continue until next Thanksgiving when it all becomes natural – a daily exercise of thankfulness! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
