Challenging Gratitude

Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind, Lionel Hampton, quote, inspiration, Karen May, Amayzing Graces

Not long ago, I was really irritated with my husband and I just couldn't get past it. I tried, I really did, but I just couldn't let it go. Finally, in prayer, I realized that I needed to say what I was grateful for in him.

It's that verse I keep bringing up - Whatever is true, whatever is honorable ... (Philippians 4:8)

I needed to look at those things to help bring me back to center again.

Then I realized that just telling myself these things wasn't going to be enough. I needed to tell him. He needed to know that I saw the good in him, even when he made mistakes. He needed to know that I valued him immensely even when I was angry.

We sat at coffee, and I told him I had something to say. He was nervous for sure – gratitude was not what he was expecting.

But in that moment, something miraculous happened. So much of what had been building just melted away. It was just the balm we needed for our souls. We could see through the frustration and into each other again.

As we approach Thanksgiving, it can be a time when old wounds or even current ones are opened up again. Gratitude is the last thing we want to think of.

I invite you to take a moment and look past the hurt. Look into the places of gratitude within the situation and share them if you can. Whether or not they reach the other person, it will be enough that you have seen them.

Photo: B Pedretti