Kristen Grossman Prose

The subject of gratitude keeps popping up in my life. I’m learning that when God keeps putting a topic in front of me, I’d better pay attention. It can be challenging to practice gratitude when life feels stressful and uncertain. However, it is amidst the difficulties of life that gratitude becomes a powerful force for good.

In her book, Courage for the Unknown Season, Jan Silvious shares this quote:

“It is a fact of neurology that the brain cannot be in a state of appreciation and a state of fear at the same time. The two states may alternate, but are mutually exclusive…

When you enter into the active condition of appreciation…creativity flows, heart rate slows, brain waves soften into rolling ripples, and an exquisite calm descends over your entire being. During active appreciation, your brain, heart, and endocrine system work in synchrony and heal in harmony.”

(Dan Baker in his book, What Happy People Know: How the New Science of Happiness Can Change Your Life for the Better).

Therefore, spending time thanking God for the many signs of His love interrupts the worries and fears cycling through my brain. Focusing on the beauty and goodness around me allows His peace to transform my mind and heart. Our God is all-powerful. He transforms our acts of adoration toward Him into gifts that heal and bless us from within.

Lament and Praise

Furthermore, the Psalms model a posture of adoration, where lament and praise are intertwined:

“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.”

Psalm 13

Then, my devotional yesterday was on the ten men who cried out to Jesus for healing from leprosy. While all ten were healed, only one returned to Jesus to thank Him. If only the others had realized that gratitude benefits not only the recipient of thankfulness but also the giver. Jesus said to the man who returned to Him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:19).

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Gratitude Journaling

A dear friend shared with me that she has been keeping a gratitude journal. Every day she jots down five things she is grateful for. What a beautiful way to focus on blessings instead of worry or stress. And what a wonderful record of God’s faithfulness and love this act will create.

Today, I begin my own gratitude journal. I look forward to seeking out the beauty, joy, and signs of God’s faithfulness all around me.

Today I am thankful for:

1. Fresh, clean air to breathe.
2. The view of Mount Diablo as I was out running errands. For too long, the hills have been obscured by a haze of smoke.
3. The husband who cares for me so well.
4. The delight of giggling over schoolwork with my high schooler.
5. Chocolate. God cares enough to treat us to the sweet taste of chocolate!

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Dear Lord, thank you for the many blessings you have given me. Thank you for the reminder to put aside my worries and focus on the beauty around me. Thank you that gratitude offers healing to the giver as well as honor to the recipient. Amen.

What are you grateful for today?