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Presented by Lisa Bishop
Would you consider yourself to be a thankful person? Let’s examine a topic that can transform your life—the undeniable power of a deep-seated posture of thankfulness.
A few weeks ago, I was headed to a wedding where I knew parking would be a bit of a challenge. I pulled up an app on my phone that helps you find and pay for parking spots in advance. I found my assigned spot #26, parked my car, and headed to see my friend get married. A few hours later I walked outside to go home and, you guessed it, my car was nowhere to be found. I was stunned and a bit bewildered. At first, I thought my car had been stolen. Then it dawned on me. I was parked in the wrong lot, and as a result, my car was towed.
As a side note, I have lived in Chicago for 27 years and have avoided this dreaded occurrence, but apparently, my lot was up. It was my turn to experience something I would not wish on anyone.
You might be wondering what this has to do with thankfulness. I would be lying if I told you I was thankful my car got towed. That is far from the truth. But I will say, instead of having a total meltdown in my dress and high heels, I was able to take the higher ground of gratitude, finding things I could be thankful for in the moment. While I did feel like bursting into tears, I talked myself off the ledge, focused on what I could control, and did my best to release the rest.
I kept calm and focused on what I could be grateful for even in the midst of an unpleasant situation: the Uber driver who took me to the tow lot and made sure I was safe, the fact that my car was not stolen and that I could afford the $240 fee to retrieve my vehicle.
Did you know when you make it a practice to lead a lifestyle of thankfulness, it makes you more resilient? For the past two years during my quiet time, I have been recording what I am grateful for, and I believe it prepared me for this dreadful day.
When daily stresses come your way, gratitude will help you be resilient in challenging times. Gratitude reverses that negative spiral we can all be prone to when life throws us curveballs. But you must be proactive in growing in gratitude to reap the benefits of resilience.
My daily gratitude practice prepared me not to lose my cool and kept me grounded in God.
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Gratitude takes practice like any other skill, and when you are thankful, you are living in God’s will.