Thanksgiving has past, leaving our tummies and our hearts full of gratitude. As I wrote about in my recent blog "The Autumn Obsession," fall and Thanksgiving bring a unique sense of joy and love to people. I love the times I share with my family during Thanksgiving. A tradition of ours is to go around the table and say what we are thankful for. It's always fun to see what everyone says. Most of us say something like, "I'm thankful for my family, my friends, my Jesus, and my food." This year, a lot of us were thankful for this country we live in, where we have the freedom to celebrate anything and everything we want. (side note: this year I got to say "I'm thankful for my man!" It was exciting, people.) But are we only thankful on Thanksgiving, or are we learning to cultivate a lifestyle of thankfulness? I don't want to restrict my thankfulness to the month of November- there is so much more to be thankful for the rest of the year.
The great thing about thankfulness and gratitude is that they are not limited to your circumstances. No matter where you are or what you have, there is always something to be thankful for.
You're alive. You're here. You get to experience life for another day.
You cannot choose your circumstances, but you can choose how you respond to them.
I thought that I would write about gratitude for our journey towards true loveliness. Don't you find people who are always thanking others, always so grateful, attractive? I do. On the opposite side of that spectrum, there is seldom anything more unattractive than someone who is completely ungrateful, someone who is always complaining or whining. Nobody wants to be around so much negativity.
I have a friend who's constant negativity and critical words always remind me that I need to have a brighter outlook on life. I can't spend too much time around him or I fear his negativity will rub off on me. After all, when you get a bunch of complainers in one room, the result is never good.
I often ask myself, "Do I sound like that?" Do I fill the silence in the air with gracious comments or heavy complaints that weigh down the spirits of others?
What about you, friend?
My thoughts on this subject are simple: you can never say thank you too much.
I'll leave you with this: Do you know who you are thankful too? Because if you do, you could never, ever, ever thank Him enough.
A lovely woman is gracious in her speech, she gives compliments instead of complaints. She encourages instead of tears down. Her words are life giving.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
-Proverbs 31:26
-Sammie Marie
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