Gratitude, Part One

Gratitude, Part 1.

"Now think what God has done for you; give thanks to him with all your voice."
(This is an antiphon we sing at morning prayer on Thursdays).

I used to challenge my students by having them make a “gratitude list” in their journals—a list of things they would like to thank God for. For some, this was a difficult assignment at first. I was as if their “gratitude pipes” were clogged and it took a while to get things moving.

Next, I would ask them to thank God for things that happened within the past week. Finally, I would narrow it down to just one day. Again, some of them would find this difficult.

How about you? How would you answer these questions:
---How has God touched my life today?
---How, and through whom or through what has he spoken to me?
---What beautiful things has he set before my eyes to savor and enjoy? (Perhaps that beautiful cloud formation in the sky that I took delight in while driving down the highway . . . )
---How has he answered a particular prayer of mine?
---How has he handled a situation I wasn’t sure about in a way that I never would have figured out?

(You can add to this list yourself.)

And so one task for the day is for you to sharpen up your “antennae” as they cast about your life looking for things you can give thanks for.

Thinking like this, by the way, introduces some subtle changes in your brain circuitry. If you’re not used to regularly giving thanks, you’ll be surprised to see what develops.