Is Gratitude really cliché??

Yesterday, I saw yet another post on gratitude and rolled my eyes in my recent fashion , but then a comment caught my eye which said ‘this is really cliché’.

Everywhere you look on social media in the last few weeks, there are several posts by celebrities, blogs, companies and individuals on gratitude. It seems to be the buzzing topic, understandably so as we are gradually coming to the end of  a very peculiar year.

A few days ago, I was sorting out some stuff and Princess T found her empty baby book (*covers face). A baby book is some sort of journal parents record their journey from pregnancy till after the baby is born, so there are questions such as  ‘ when did you find out you were pregnant? ‘What time was baby born’ …blablaa…

Please don’t ask why I never filled it. She decided she would fill it herself and took to inundating her dad and I with questions , one of which was:

Princess T: So , how do you feel about being a new mum?

Me: Grateful!

Princess T: What exactly are you grateful for?

That question stopped me in my tracks. What exactly am I grateful for??

Later that evening, I was speaking to one of my close friends on the phone and I asked how he was doing. He replied “I’m grateful for what is working”. I’ve spent the last few days meditating on that and asking myself honest questions like what is working and what isn’t??

If you are like me, then you’ve had a challenging year but there hasn’t been a day that God has not been faithful. In one way or another, we’ve faced fear, disappointment, excitement , joy and all sorts of opposing emotions this year.

I know this because we all experience ups and downs but the only thing that is constant is God’s love and faithfulness to us.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you

1 Thess 5 v 18

Many of us find it difficult to give thanks in all things, this is largely due to our faith. I mean, how do you give thanks when you’ve lost someone so dear to you, or your job, or your house? I believe it takes a certain level of faith and experience in God, to say “But we know all things work together for good to them who love God”

I think we will talk about the last paragraph on another day but today, I just want to let you know that your feelings are valid, your pain and disappointment is not without cause but can you just take a minute to look inwards at what is working!!!

Is there one thing that is working? Your heart maybe? Your kidneys? Your marriage? Your mind? Can you focus on this one thing and express your gratitude for it.

It might be hard to be grateful for the things you’ve lost but you can express your value for gratitude by being thankful for the ‘one thing’ that is working.

• Write it down

You might have heard this before but nothing reminds you of gratitude more than writing it down. There’s a famous song that says ‘Count your blessings , name them one by one’. When you start to write down the things that you are grateful for, you will actually be surprised at how much mercy you’ve received.

My first patient this morning was a man in his 50s recently diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour. We were chatting about his experience when he brought out his phone and showed me a text message from his daughter’s boyfriend asking if he could marry her.

He was joyful and crying, telling me how grateful he is that she is marrying such a responsible man. I stood there thinking, If this man who has just found out he’d be dead in a few months could express gratitude, then what is wrong with me?

• Focus on it

Keep your gaze on what you are grateful for, stop meditating on what isn’t working (I know easier said than done right). Someone once said ‘worry is paying interest on a loan you might never take’.

Don’t worry about the future, you could never control anything really. Tell God your thoughts and trust that He will do you good according to His promises.

• Act Your Gratitude

When you see grateful people, you know them. Gratitude is an emotion that cannot be hidden. When you fix your heart on it, you become merry and more importantly, it gives you hope and this hope does not disappoint.

If you’ve had a bad year, God is the reason it is not worse. As you begin your gratitude walk, you attract more things to be grateful for.

Have a lovely weekend ahead and take time this weekend to meditate on what you are grateful for and give thanks!

I leave you with the peace of God!

0

0