Gratitude in the Everyday
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow yourself to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.
Imagine how much richer our lives would be if we all stopped to acknowledge the everyday blessings we already hold.
“Gratitude sweetens even the smallest moments.”
– Author Unknown
“The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.”
– Mary Davis
Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, rejoice.
Food for Thought
Gratitude.
It’s a word I put to use daily.
It’s a word that reminds me to be intentional.
It’s a word that reminds me how blessed I am.
With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I believe it’s an ideal time to take inventory of this word’s priority in our lives. We’ve entered into the season where the leaves are changing colors, the temperatures are cooling, and the year is winding down. Many of us begin to drift into a reflective mode as we survey what has or hasn’t happened.
If you’re like me, at the beginning of each year you have expectations. Some center around family. Some around careers. Some around finances. Some center around travel, rest, and relationships. Whatever the focus is, most of us start January 1st in a hopeful state.
And if your life is anything like mine, the expectations you have at the top of the year often don’t align with what transpires. You might find yourself thinking, ‘Whoa what happened!?’
Let me be clear. At this point in my life, I view all experiences as valuable. Whether they produce joy, frustration, peace, tears, laughter, or anger, they all have a purpose.
Understanding and embracing this reality didn’t happen overnight for me. It didn’t even happen in a few months. Arriving at this destination, where I can be grateful for situations that don’t feel good, the moments that have produced an abundance of sadness or have been exhausting for me, took a lot of work. And trust me when I say A LOT.
I had to be willing to be pruned, criticized constructively, stretched, challenged, pushed out of my comfort zone, and accepting of what had been shaped and uncovered. Long story short, I had to be honest with myself about me. I had to embrace my good while accepting that I had a few areas of opportunity that needed attention. Once I hopped on board with the notion of doing the work, the rewards were worth it.
This brings me back to where we started: Gratitude.
Previously, gratitude was often attached to materialistic and tangible items in my life. I was appreciative of my home, car, bank account, job opportunities, and education. But some of my internal examination revealed I was too focused on things I could obtain instead of focusing on the things I took for granted – the village I had and the blessings that continued to flow in my life.
The more I talked with people, the more I began to hone in on the places I needed to implement gratitude more fully. Those places included my family, friends, neighborhood, health, hometown, mind, body, and soul. I started to realize that what I had was rare. I began to appreciate the beauty of it all more fully, which led me down a path that I’m still walking today.
As I saw the blessing in the everyday, I was able to slow down and let gratitude catch up with me. It infiltrated my life in a way that allows me to find it in almost every situation I encounter. I find it at home when I have food to eat. I find it on the porch when I’m able to watch the squirrels. I find it at the farmers market when I’m picking out fresh fruits and vegetables. I find it at football games when I’m able to cheer for my team while enjoying a sport I love. I find it with my people who I love doing life and laughing with. I’ve even found it in death, as thankfulness arises over the fact that I was able to have a meaningful relationship with the person I’m now grieving.
My gratitude overflows.
I know our lives may not mirror each other’s but I can almost guarantee that if you’re willing to make a concentrated effort to live with gratefulness, you will discover the rich blessings that already fill your life. It only takes your commitment to view life through a different lens than the one that’s been presented to you.
That may be the most beautiful thing about gratitude – you get to define it, to shape it within your life, and then allow it to shape you.
Stop what you’re doing, and think of three things you’re grateful for.
Make a Gratitude Jar! Get a large empty jar, and at the end of each day, write on an index card or sticky note something(s) you’re grateful for then drop it in the jar. Daily, try to find something different to write. Do this each day for a year. Once you’ve reached a year, set aside time to open the jar and read what you wrote.
For a printable version of today's reflection Click Here!
If you are looking for a few ideas to create a more welcoming space this holiday season, here are Five Things to Remember When Setting a Welcome Table for the Holidays.
Blessing
Dear God, we’re grateful for this life you’ve blessed us to live. Help us to see the beauty you’ve surrounded us with, especially in the spaces we take for granted. As we turn our thoughts towards you, fill our minds with gratitude for all your wonderful blessings. May it help us to be more loving, kind, and gracious.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Do you consider yourself to be grateful? Why or why not?
How can you produce more gratitude in your life?
What is one thing you’re now grateful for that you weren’t a year ago?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Help your kiddo define gratefulness.
Ask them what they are grateful for at home or at school.
Have your kids make their own gratitude jar. At the end of each day, have them write down the things they are grateful for on that day and drop it in the jar.
Meet Our Welcoming Voice!
Kassaundra Shanette Lockhart loves God, her family, her friends, her cat-chirren, adventure, traveling, the outdoors, hammocking, concerting, laughing, reading, writing, and food.
To hear more from Kassaundra throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
Here are Five Things to Remember When Setting Your Own Welcome Table!