Last Sunday, my church held a ‘Celebration’ service to help us reflect on all the things we’re thankful for and for where we can see God moving and working in our lives day-to-day. It was a chance for people to share in both the good times and the challenges they’ve faced in the last few months, and to express gratitude in it all for big or small things. I really enjoyed the service and the mind shift that being thankful gave me. This made me wonder when I last took part in a celebration where I actively considered what it was we were celebrating.
Back track a month or so to when my husband and I were having lunch with some close friends of ours: we were celebrating their son’s – our godson’s – first birthday. I honestly felt the generous weight of blessing that day. Our friends had previously been advised that they probably wouldn’t be able to have another child, due to certain health risks. Our little godson’s first birthday marked a real celebration and I was so excited to be part of that.
When I think back beyond that BBQ though, I can ‘t remember feeling thankful at other birthdays or events. In fact, if I’m honest, I can remember feeling very differently – rushed or even stressed. Do you ever find yourself going from one diarised celebration to the next, almost resenting them because life just becomes crazy with it all? I love birthdays, Hens do’s, Father’s Day and all the rest but I feel like my attitude towards them has been as a task on my to-do list rather than as a chance to be thankful for life, with others who mean so much to me.
I like the thought of marking the importance of the smaller things that shape our lives: tackling a challenge, starting a new season, getting through a stressful week
So the question then, is how do I turn my attitude around so I can look beyond my diary and instead practice thankfulness? I was recently reading about recognising the little wins in life. I really like this idea and I think it could be applied here. I like the thought of marking the importance of the smaller things that shape our lives: tackling a challenge, starting a new season, getting through a stressful week. These are things that don’t even get a mention in my diary but often mean a lot to us or even shape our lives significantly.
I know certain events will stay as an integral part of my diary each year and there are going to be times when they make things busy. What I’m going to do is to start noticing the small wins that go on in the lives of others around me and create impromptu occasions to mark those wins. It’s not going to be anything big. It might be coffee, breakfast, cocktails mid week, a same-night dinner invite shouting take-away; just a chance to talk together about what we’re thankful for and to show people that I care about what’s going on for them.
My hope is that in time this attitude of thankfulness will rub off right through my diary.
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