Yesterday I celebrated my wedding anniversary by simply being grateful. I don’t have a lot of flowery words for it, I am just so GRATEFUL. What a joy to be able to celebrate another year full of love, it is such a blessing and something you can be sure I will never take for granted.
Sometimes we think being grateful has to be reserved for the huge things in our lives, when we really should be grateful for the little things – like when we actually finish all the mundane daily chores, finally get the dog to the vet for his overdue shots or clean out the refrigerator. Most of our days can feel pretty ordinary with washing dishes and unfinished laundry not being the highlight of the day, but the whole week! When I’m grateful for the smallest things it tends to help me appreciate my life more because I am always looking for something to be happy about. For instance, this morning I am teaching a Sunday school class in church for my daughter. I didn’t think I had time, but after I paused and took a deep breath, I realized this is a wonderful opportunity to help my daughter – and after all, who doesn’t love a room full of 5 and 6 year olds. 🥰 When I started looking for gratitude I saw it everywhere and then trusted God to help me make the time... it will work out and I am grateful for that knowledge. I am simply trying to see gratitude as a habit, it’s something my mom instilled in me. She’d say “Marie, remember gratitude is a choice, it’s a verb!” (Yes, she came from a schoolteaching family! 😉) She’s correct ✅ It’s always looking for something to be happy about, even when our circumstances aren’t great.
Recently I read a book called, “A Simple Act of Gratitude” by John Kralik. The author is a mess, his business is failing, his health is bad and he is on his second divorce. But then while hiking he has an epiphany, it is to write a thank you note every day for a year. He was determined to find a reason to be thankful! While he was writing thank you notes, he began to see wonderful things all around him that he hadn’t noticed before. That’s when he realized it’s our natural tendency to focus on the 9 bad things that happen and forget about the one good thing that happened. He also found out as he wrote the notes that gratitude is one of those rare things you get more of by giving it away. To date he has written and received more than 2,000 thank you notes!
Wouldn’t it be good for our souls if we set aside a little bit of time and wrote a thank you note every day? I know it would change our lives—and just think what it would do for those people we thank.
I believe it is possible to bring more peace in our lives by being grateful and sharing that gift with others.
Tell someone you are grateful for them today. I am so grateful for all of you. Happy Sunday! ♥️