Aspire to Live in a State of Thankfulness

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you spend today intentionally thankful for the large and small blessings that God has given you! I pray that you are not only full of turkey but also full of thankfulness at the end of the day!

Today, I am thankful for words. I'm incredibly grateful for God's Word, but words, in general, intrigue me. I may be a word geek! I enjoy breaking them apart, connecting to other words, using words in new contexts, and creating visual images of word meanings. Weird? Maybe! But, at times, this simple act of pondering words launches me into more profound understanding, reflection, and change. And today, as I consider what thankfulness means, I'm both grateful and challenged to continue to develop a stronger heart of thankfulness.

Thankfulness means to be in a state or condition of being thankful. Simply put, this means to be full of thanks. Nothing too profound there, right? Let's add a visual to take it a step further. A container is full when filled to the top, and the contents will spill out when bumped or jostled. Being full means there is no room for anything else. The container has reached maximum capacity!

Now, consider that the container is the state or condition of your heart. Is it filled to maximum capacity with thankfulness? When bumped or jostled, do you respond with kindness and gratitude? Can you offer thanks and praise if pushed around or not given what you thought you deserved? Is your heart so full of thanks that goodness flows out no matter what happens around you?

If you want to know what's in your heart, watch your mouth! Matthew 12:34 tells us that the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart. Yikes! That can be a scary thought to listen, truly listen to yourself talk. Is your heart full of self, complaining, and negativity? Or do you have a heart of thankfulness? Like me, perhaps your heart's current state is a mix of both.

I aspire to have this type of heart, a heart filled to overflowing with thanks. I'm not quite there yet. I'm better than I once was, but I have not yet attained a constant state of THANKFULNESS!

More than six years ago, I began a battle against depression, a fight I was losing. The circumstances in my life were not what I wanted. They hurt me, and hopelessness took over my heart and mind. It seemed that no matter where I looked, there was pain and frustration. I tried to be thankful, but I couldn't do it. Negativity overtook my mind.

It's been a long journey back to thankfulness and joy! I'm still not quite 'full,' but I'm on my way. And it all began with one prayer of thanks a day.

Friend, I don't know what you are going through today, but if you feel less grateful because life is hurtful, messy, and complicated, determine to be thankful for just one thing today. Write it down, and tomorrow, add one more thing. But don't just add to the list; take time to reread your blessings because now you have two reasons to be grateful! Continue to add to your list daily. Little by little, gratitude and praise will fill your heart. And in due time, thankfulness will overflow from the inside out-even if your circumstances don't change!