A Year of Thanksgiving
A Shared Journey
For about a year now, Peni & I (Andschana) have been posting in a shared note on our phones. Every day we list 3 things we are grateful for.
I first wrote about this last year during our November month of Thanksgiving, I was amazed at the changes I was seeing in my attitude, perspective, and general heart condition. You can go back and read those posts in our Blog history if you like.
This year, we’ve decided to spend the next couple weeks reflecting on our experiences, what God has done with this, and invite you do try it out too.
Last week Peni reflected on her experience, this week it’s my turn. Our experiences are similar yet different. This was new for me, I didn’t always remember, but I am incredibly blessed to have a friend who challenges me to continue to grow and keep going even when I miss the mark.
Reflections from Andschana
About a year ago I was reflecting with my friend about the changes happening in our world, particularly the political and social/cultural upheaval caused by Covid, the resulting closures & isolation, challenges faced by ministries and just a general sense of negativity. I was writing our blog posts in the month of Thanksgiving, and feeling the pressure to find positives and rays of hope to point to.
She then invited me to share her journey of Gratefulness. She had been regularly recording three things every day to be thankful for. She suggested I try it too, but then added the kicker, we would create a shared note and each post to it daily. This required a level of commitment that I am often reluctant to engage in, hesitant to do things out of habit or ritual, somehow feeling it takes away from the sincerity of the action, but I allowed her to push me out of my comfort zone.
The first month was great. I found myself regularly noticing the little things to be grateful for. Noticing them faster during the day, becoming more aware of the little things in life. Living in the space of expectation and appreciation, instead of worrying or complaining.
As the first month flowed into the next, as the “big” things to be grateful for faded into to smaller things, as it became a challenge to think of “new things” each day, I sometimes felt discouraged. Much of life is a routine, and daily being grateful for family night, or a good day of work, a good meal or a great sports event, started to feel repetitive and uninspired. I kept looking for “important” things to be grateful for, but that was really the point. Gratefulness in the small things leads to a posture of gratitude. It’s easy to be grateful for the big things, but being grateful for routine, a simple meal, a brief encounter is what really changes your perspective.
I often stopped posting for a day or three, allowing busyness and distraction to get in the way, but Peni was great at inviting me back. Sometimes I backfilled the missing days, sometimes, I just picked up and moved forward; turns out ritual wasn’t the point, checking all the boxes wasn’t the point, training myself to see the positives was the point – remembering to celebrate Jesus’ gifts in the middle of ugly circumstances was the point.
The added bonus, the one I didn’t really expect, was how connected this also kept me to my friend. Through distance and closures, travel bans and isolation, we were able to connect regularly. And those hundreds of small things end up containing much more detail and insight into each others’ lives, than the monthly phone conversations (no matter how long).