This Thanksgiving, Count Your Blessings, Literally
As we head into this week of Thanksgiving, I’d like to “re-share” an earlier writing I posted nearly a year ago. We can always use a reminder to look around and take inventory of how much we have to be thankful for. Whether, for you, this Thanksgiving is filled with family and great health or whether you find yourself alone and struggling, you get to choose where to place your focus. I hope that “Count Your Blessings, Literally!” helps you to do that.
My mom died unexpectedly the day after her 92nd birthday. I was the one who found her unresponsive and barely breathing and rolled on her side in the center of her bed. It was a horrible image we all hope we never have to see. Mom and I had enjoyed a great phone conversation just the night before. She was so excited about my coming to town to take her out for shopping and her birthday lunch. Instead, it was a panicked 911 call and me following her ambulance to Self Regional. I would soon learn that mom’s vibrant life was almost over. She had suffered a large brainstem bleed and we knew it would be a matter of hours before the rest of her body shut down.
Why do I share this sad story in a post on counting our blessings? Was there anything to be grateful for in losing my mother? In no way am I making little of my loss. But I want to show you how our being in the habit of counting our blessings is a tool that will help us walk closely with God through even the hardest of times.
Several years ago I read a life changing book by Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. The takeaway for me was to choose to live a lifestyle of gratitude. God used this book to get me started on my own “Blessings” journey about eight years ago. The discipline of counting my blessings prepared me to better handle some big challenges with a healthier mindset.
Starting your “Blessings” or gratitude journal:
Choose to say “Yes” to this “Blessings” challenge.
Get a Composition Notebook and start on page 1. Or, if you already keep a prayer journal, turn to the last 4-5 empty pages.
Write, “BLESSINGS,” at the top of the page.
On the top line, far left, put today’s date and then the number “1”. (See picture)
Pray and ask God to help you think of something you are grateful for. Write it down. (If you still have breath today and you have a warm place to sit and write, then you have your first two!)
Keep it going. Some prefer to write two to three “Blessings” each day. I prefer to do my list 2-3 times per week and push myself to think of 10 things I can thank God for. Today I’m at 6,551. The Lord has helped me to keep my pen recording even in the hardest places. Do what works best for you. The point is to do it.
Switch On Your Brain - The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health, by Dr. Caroline Leaf is a fascinating read on the magnificent ways God has wired our brains. It shows the science behind our choosing to focus on the positive, praiseworthy things, and how we can actually affect the flow of certain “feel good” brain chemicals (oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin). Dr. Leaf includes numerous studies showing the benefits of gratitude to our happiness, overall satisfaction and also on depression.
I encourage you to start this “Blessings” exercise today. Train your mind to search for the good in every situation. The investment of your time to jot down your own list on what you are thankful for is small compared to how God will use your efforts to bless you. What do you have to lose by trying?
My mother died on September 5. Here is what is recorded in the back of my prayer journal under “Blessings” on September 8:
Able to be with mom when she died
I did not have to watch her stroke, was spared
The ER doctor was a friend, very kind
Kim, Terri and Paul were with with me at the hospital , taking care of me, all day
There is no doubt in my mind that God’s hand was beautifully orchestrating all the happenings of that very difficult day. Am I sad to have lost my mom? Certainly, yet I am incredibly grateful that the Lord is teaching me to look for His fingerprints all around. He wants to teach you, too.
What are you grateful for today? I would love to hear how your own “Blessings” journey has helped you. Please take the time to share.
Some content for this post is taken from my book, Walking Through Fire Without Getting Burned, available on Amazon.