Have you ever considered gratitude to be a treasure? Something to seek after with all the intentionality of searching for the greatest treasure you could imagine?
If I was completely honest, I’d admit there are times when gratitude seems too hard. Walking through heart ache or disappointment can leave me drained. In those seasons, it’s much simpler to sulk, or complain, or throw myself a PMS (Poor Me Syndrome) party than it is to choose gratitude.
In a season of loss, it’s easier to cling to grief,
. . . the unmet longing,
. . . the sorrow than it is to choose to be grateful.
Gratitude is a choice. And every time I purpose to be grateful, I plant a seed of peace into my sorrowing heart. In the middle of the trial, in the center of chaos when I look for something I can say “Thank You” for, a little piece of angst is replaced with a tiny seed of hope.
Choosing gratitude is the treasure. It’s the rainbow that splashes droplets of color into a dark and drab me. It adds a bit of life to a hurting heart. It replaces Self with glimpses of the Savior, the One who loves me and walks with me through every season of life.
Gratitude isn’t a destination, it’s a moment by moment choice with life-changing possibilities.
What about you? How has gratitude changed you? What makes choosing gratitude difficult?
Jeanne Takenaka 
Hi Jeanne,
I’m so glad I stopped by today. What a great reminder that we can choose to be grateful even in the midst of life’s storms.
Have a great day!
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I think we all need that reminder from time to time. I know I do. 🙂 Thank you for stopping by, Jackie!
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Gratitude can be hard in times of loss, but I’ve found a path that works for me – composure.
When my mother-in-law died recently, I was deeply grieved, as she was the only real ‘mother’ I had ever known, But that grief had to be put away, because my wife and her brothers and fathers had far more right for deeply felt, and expressed, sorrow.
In the course of remaining composed I found that I had to concentrate on the good memories I had, and keep them green. In the process the grief turned to gratitude, albeit not without some wistfulness.
I’ve also had to bury dead friends (or pieces of them) in unmentionable lands. Composure was needed there, in a different way. One had to forcibly dissociate one’s mind from that which one held in one’s hands, and to remember the person that was. Overcoming the horror could even bring a smile born of fond memory.
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Andrew, I’ve not suffered nearly the losses you have. What you’re saying about finding the good memories and thinking on those helping with finding something to be thankful for…that’s good. We look where we can sometimes, to put one foot in front of the other. Thank you for sharing your perspective.
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Andrew, I can’t imagine. I smile and am grateful knowing you were there to provide for your friends.
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Thank you Jeanne. I just posted a picture on fb of my daughter and me when she was three walking relay for life (my little cancer survivor) … I placed a caption: “How do you press forward? Take a hand and walk one step at a time.” Same with gratitude … like you said … just look for one little thing one step at a time … and it grows … and that step becomes a mile of gratitude.
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Loved this, Shelli. Take a hand. Walk one step at a time. Yes, that’s what it is. One step, one choice. Thanks for sharing this thought!
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It’s so true–that it’s a moment by moment choice. I tend to think of it more as an attitude. People who see the world through a lens of thankfulness are the most awesome people around, the kind your want to surround yourself with, the generous kind who allow you to see your best self and the world around you as a brighter place. I aspire to be one of those, but we all have our failings, eh? Here’s to the moment by moment method!
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Crystal, I like that—seeing the world through a lens of thankfulness. It’s hard, but it can be done, moment by moment, eh?
Thanks so much for stopping by!
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