Being Thankful When You Do Not Feel It

Being Thankful When You Do Not Feel It

Someone might ask you what you are thankful for at this week’s Thanksgiving Day celebration. A lump might form in your throat because you can’t answer it right away. The news has been full of troubling things lately. War has broken out in the Middle East, and that adds to the one dragging out in Ukraine and several smoldering in sub-Sahara Africa. Our country has political partisanship, and even our Church has divisions and controversies. Add to that any health problems, financial concerns, and family tensions we are experiencing, and we might feel a little less than thankful this Thursday. We might not believe God is caring for us and loving us.

It feels as if practicing gratitude and giving thanks when the storms of life are raging all around us is challenging, if not impossible, but that is when we must look for reasons to express gratitude the most. We need to seek reasons to show appreciation when life is stormy because it is when we feel fear and doubt. We question the usefulness of faith and lack hope.

Life’s storms can damage so much. They sweep away much of the landscape, making it challenging to recognize our surroundings. Then, when we need it the most, we see something surprising that survives the storm’s fury and battering. It provides encouragement and the realization that it is possible to begin again. We recognized some signs of life and a new beginning. They cause us to reflect, reassess our situation, and help us see the light again. We see God is present, maybe even more vividly than before. That thread of God’s presence gives us hope to rebuild even more sturdily than before.

This week, take some time before Thursday to pray that God will reveal to you something to be thankful for even if you feel as if life is a raging storm. Look for some sign, even if it is tiny right now, that God is with you, supporting you and your loved ones and opening the doors to gratitude and thanksgiving.

Consider praying this prayer of thanksgiving this week. Use it to help you reflect on your gratefulness this Thanksgiving.

A Thanksgiving Prayer

"Lord, we thank you for the goodness of our people

And for a spirit of justice that fills this nation.

We thank you for the beauty and fullness of the land

And the challenge of the cities.

We thank you for our work and our rest,

For one another and for our homes.

We thank you, Lord: accept our gratitude on this day

We pray and give thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."