A Few Thoughts On Gratitude and Thanksgiving

 Expressing Gratitude

Good morning, friends, on this Monday before Thanksgiving. Today, I'm thinking about the concepts of gratitude and thanksgiving. Both are important, not only at this time of year, but throughout the year.

My words of the year for 2025 have been gratitude and grace, and I have to admit that I have become much more mindful of expressing gratitude in my own life. Whether expressing gratitude verbally, in my journaling or through a thank-you note, I have tried to recognize the many things in my life for which I am thankful. 

The words thankful and gratitude are often used interchangeably. And they are closely related. As I looked up the definitions of each, however, I found that while thankfulness can be momentary, as in "thank you for helping me make this meal," gratitude is more of a mindset. Gratitude is felt more deeply and includes an appreciation of one's life and the good things in life even though one's life circumstances may not always be great. That puts a whole new spin on the idea of gratitude, doesn't it? We all know that life isn't always wonderful. There can be so many things, different for each of us, that can cause us worry, pain and difficulty and, in these circumstances, it's hard to be thankful. But if our mindset is one of gratitude, we can realize that even when life is hard, there are still some things that are good. And it is often this goodness in life that pulls us through whatever the hard times may be. 

The apostle Paul seemed to know this when he wrote in I Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

 "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

I am still a student of learning to have an attitude of gratitude in all things. All too easily, I can quickly revert back to being grumpy and fault finding when things in life aren't going well. But I'm trying. And having the word "gratitude" as one of my words of the year has helped me to focus more on this important mindset.

How about you? Do you have an attitude of gratitude as we go into Thanksgiving and then Christmas? I hope that each of you dear readers will enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving week and I look forward to being back with you next week!

Until Next Time,

Debbie (this and that)