Gratitude

“Dalat students grow spiritually by showing gratitude.”

The importance of showing gratitude is well-researched and documented. There are countless articles and even detailed studies demonstrating that gratitude has a positive impact on mental health. I’ve linked a few of them here, but a quick online search will bring up many more. Essentially, being grateful is good for you and the only negative I can come up with is that it takes time and intentionality.

Monday was a rough day for me with a lot of challenges, and I had to take a couple of hours out of my day to go to physical therapy. I was not in the best mood, but as I was driving downtown, I decided to practice being grateful. I started listing all of the things for which I was grateful at that moment, which included access to great medical care, a car that works well, medical professionals who care about healing, flexibility to take time out of my day to get treatment, air conditioning in my car… By the time I got that far on my list, my mindset had definitely improved.

There are lots of ways to practice gratitude on a regular basis. Some people write one thing they are thankful for on their calendars each day. Others take the time to write thank you notes regularly. Some families make it a practice to share their gratefulness with one another regularly. This article has a number of suggestions and strategies to get started.

I think the most important thing is to make a conscious decision to be more grateful, then keep reminding ourselves of that. Building gratitude into our daily or weekly habits will enable us to remember to take the time.

The Bible is full of reminders to be thankful or grateful, but here are a few of my favorites.

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thessalonians 5:16-18

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!” I Chronicles 16:34

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” II Corinthians 9:15