Growing Gratitude Daily

This post was written by Kayla Cornish, mom, ministry leader, entrepreneur, and coach. Visit legacyrootsco.com for more information.

‘Tis the season to be jolly! ‘Tis the season of thanksgiving. But many of us are going through tough times during this holiday season that can make it more challenging to have an attitude of gratitude.

Recently, a lot of our friends and loved ones in the Asheville, NC area experienced unbelievable tragedy from Hurricane Helene. We lived in Asheville only a few months ago, and so our hearts are very much grieving with the people of Western North Carolina.

We’ve also had an unusually high number of friends lose parents and other loved ones within the past couple of weeks. We tragically lost a dear friend who stood up in our wedding to a house fire back in June. And we recently found out that our 7th baby (whom I’m 24 weeks pregnant with) has several heart defects; it will be a miracle if he or she survives.

These devastations seemed to have missed the “jolly” and “thankful” holiday season memo.

Regardless of whether you are going through a tough season or not… Regardless of whether it’s Thanksgiving or any other time of year… An attitude of gratitude can be difficult to maintain on a daily basis. All the pain, the tragedy, and the heartache can seem like a massive roadblock to having true and honest gratitude in our heart. And whether we like it or not, it’s the time of year that the topic of thankfulness is smack dab in our face everywhere we look.

No matter how busy or difficult our life may seem, God desires for us to have a heart of gratitude in all circumstances. But this, of course, is easier said than done. 

And while emotions of sadness, grief, anxiety, depression, anger and overwhelm can feel very consuming, so can gratitude if we will grasp hold of it.

This morning I sat in a rocking chair in front of the black woodstove in our living room overlooking the beautiful snow-covered San Juan mountains in Colorado. The fire was dying. It needed something to get it blazing again. So I routinely threw in some more kindling and a new log. Instantly, it was consumed by flames! It’s amazing how a little log and paper thrown on a dying fire can instantly bring it back to life.

I think an attitude of gratitude is similar. Sometimes our feelings become so heavy that it’s hard to even imagine feeling anything but consumed. But the opportunity to have gratitude is always there. Feeling grateful might be a dying fire in our soul, but the moment we add a little kindling and a new log to the fire, it begins to roar again.

So how do we keep the “gratitude fire” roaring? Having daily gratitude rhythms in place allows us to more readily fan the flames of gratefulness in our hearts in all seasons.

This is why many people speak highly of having a daily gratitude habit, or the joy of keeping a gratitude journal. Intentionally focusing on gratitude on a daily basis is like putting a new log on the fire.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” These verses provide a beautiful framework for how we can practically live out gratitude on a daily basis. We can invite the Holy Spirit to grow this part of our character. Being grateful isn’t something we can just fake or force. It’s something that must come from deep within from constantly tending to the flame. 

So let’s get practical.

How can you experience true gratitude in all circumstances? True and honest gratitude is an overflow from our heart’s posture. No matter how busy, burdened or broken you feel, these verses guide us to take steps to be authentically grateful.

Celebrate

As Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:16, “rejoice always.” Rejoicing means to feel great joy. In other words, celebrate!

When was the last time you celebrated something in your daily life? I’m not talking about the obvious like birthdays, job promotions, graduations, or anniversaries. I’m talking about the normal, mundane, small moments of your day-to-day life? This is what these Today I blogs are all about: noticing God in the seemingly insignificant moments of every day. Or as Hannah writes in The Way of Gratitude, “Gratitude is seeing and celebrating the good around you.”

As I think about this verse and my own life, a few reasons why we don’t take time to frequently celebrate come to mind.

For one, most of us can get stuck in the hamster wheel of life that never seems to slow down or let us off. And because of this monotonous wake up, go to work, eat, TV, sleep, repeat lifestyle, it can feel weird and even uncomfortable to celebrate small daily wins. We might even be tempted to believe there are no wins among the repetition and quick pace of life. Unfortunately, this busyness keeps us distracted from growing our character deeper in gratitude.

Another reason I see for not taking time to celebrate daily wins comes from a place of false humility. We want to give God glory for all things. And we should, as God truly is from where all good things come. However, it’s easy to take it so far as to not allow for joy and celebration in our lives at all. We fearfully assume that celebration is prideful. I’m here to tell you, this is absolutely not the case! It makes me sad to think of all the women and men following Jesus who are missing out the opportunities to rejoice!

I love this quote about celebration from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, author of Sabbath:

“People of our time are losing the power of celebration. Instead of celebrating, we seek to be amused or entertained. Celebration is an active state, an act of expressing reverence or appreciation… Celebration is a confrontation, giving attention to the transcendent meaning of one’s actions.”

When we take time to celebrate, we are actively expressing reverence and appreciation. We are intentionally reflecting, confronting, and giving attention to the very thing we are grateful for. 

Without celebration, life becomes boring.

I can tell you this from personal experience: when we don’t take time each day to recognize and celebrate the daily wins in our life, our life becomes dull. Without celebration, life becomes boring and something we aren’t excited to wake up to each morning. And worse? We can start to speak negative things about our life and circumstances because we aren’t realizing the progress we are actually making.

For example, this is my first year homeschooling four out of our six kids. It’s been a learning curve to say the least. It’s actually been so difficult and overwhelming at times that I have broken down crying, feeling like a total failure. 

But the hardest days are for me are the ones that I didn’t take the time to simply reflect on what is going well or what I can celebrate in my homeschooling or parenting that day.

I’ve learned that taking a moment to celebrate or recognize a win each day significantly changes my perspective. Instead of feeling like everything is going wrong, I feel authentically grateful for this very challenging experience. It’s a beautiful mystery and divine miracle!

The truth is: no matter how tough or busy your day is, there is always something to celebrate. God is always working behind the scenes of our lives, and when we take the time to recognize that, we see His goodness and faithfulness. When we celebrate even the little moments, it lifts our spirits and it encourages us to keep going. It gives us a moment to pause and praise God for his provision. And eventually, all of that daily praising and celebration leads us to having a thankful heart no matter the circumstances.

What does it look like to celebrate each day?

Celebration as a daily practice does not require balloons, cake, and champagne. Well, you could have balloons and cake everyday; don’t let me be the one to hold you back!

To celebrate in a more simple, consistent way, ask yourself this: When can I consistently pause and rejoice for 3-5 minutes each day? 

This might work best in the morning when you first wake up. It could be part of your morning quiet time rhythm, writing down one thing you are celebrating from the day before. Or perhaps you and your spouse could take a few minutes to share yesterday’s win over your morning coffee.

If morning isn’t your thing, you could pause for celebration before bed. Could you write down in your journal a few wins from the day? Or, practice a simple celebration with your family! One of my favorite ways to celebrate is with the whole Cornish clan around the dinner table. We each take a few moments to share our wins for that day. This also gives us an opportunity to celebrate one another.

Maybe the time to celebrate is easy to find, but you aren’t sure what “counts” as a win? Here are a few questions that may help you discover your daily wins:

• If you’re a homeschooling mom, ask What is one win from homeschooling today?
• If you’re a parent, ask What is one parenting win today?
• If you have a career, ask What is one win I had with my team or in my work today?

You can celebrate weekly and monthly as well. 

Our family has a dedicated weekly time of celebration every Friday night when we kick off Sabbath. It truly is such a joyous moment for us as we lay down our burdens and work from the week, light candles, and take a deep breath of relief as we enter into God’s rest. 

In this joyous celebration we fully realize the gift of Sabbath that God has blessed us with. We feast (often with guests), drink delicious wine, and enjoy a second helping of dessert. It’s a time that we often go around the table and share what each of us is grateful for. 

We don’t go into every Sabbath with a joyous spirit. Because of life circumstances, it is often difficult to let go of our hardships and enter into the peace of Sabbath. But because we have a rhythm of Sabbath built into our weekly life, it gives us the opportunity to focus on God’s goodness and faithfulness in our life, no matter how hard life is. This is just one example of how taking intentional time to celebrate centers our hearts on what we are deeply grateful for.

Stoke the Flames

I want to encourage you, with an appropriate sense of urgency, to take time daily to recognize the good in your life. It is vital to growing a heart and character that “rejoices always” with an attitude of gratitude. Without taking time to be aware of how God is moving in our life, we can quickly become depressed or down laden when hardships try to consume. 

When life gets hard, gratitude becomes an anchor for the soul. It helps us see our circumstances through more holy eyes. When we choose gratitude even through the pain, we can more easily see how God is working in our situation. Our mindset begins to shift. Instead of being consumed by feelings of worry, anxiety, anger, and depression, we are lifted by the freedom and clarity that gratitude offers.

How will you keep the fire of gratitude alive in your heart?

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For more insights on home rhythms, Sabbath practice, and peaceful living, visit legacyrootsco.com. Follow Kayla on Instagram @kaylatcornish.