How to Make Thankfulness a Family Tradition
I smile as my grandchildren offer a heartfelt prayer of thanks to our great big God. I imagine God, in all His glory, smiling too. They’re not the least bit intimidated by His status, nor threatened by His greatness. They’re simply talking to Jesus as if He were sitting beside them, and it’s precious.
The beginnings of a family tradition
Moments like these make me thankful we stumbled upon this simple, yet extraordinary bedtime routine years ago–the habit of gathering together as a family, each of us speaking aloud one thing we’re thankful for that day.
What a blessing it’s been to hear what our children consider the best parts of their day! And what a blessing for the children to have heard mom and dad thank God, even on days where there seemed to be little to be thankful for.
Through the years our thankfuls have sometimes appeared small, casual, and seemingly unimportant. They may have included a sudden stop for ice cream for the children or a much-needed cup of fancy coffee for mom. These are small-scale, yes, but we’ve been blessed by them just the same.
Other times our thankfuls have carried a heavier weight. Like the many instances when God provided for specific financial needs that could have only come to fruition by His hand. Or when family members we had been praying for had their needs met in the most unexpected ways. And perhaps the weightiest of all, when our precious grandson received the gift of a new heart and was finally able to come home after a lengthy hospital stay. His journey entails a long list of our most beloved thankfuls, even today.
Creating your own family tradition of thankfulness
Whether they be trivial or magnificent, creating the habit of recognizing and reflecting on all the beautiful ways God blesses us is so important to our well-being. Pushing ourselves to consider all that has occurred, and to hunt diligently–especially on the hard days–for something we can be grateful for is time well spent.
In these times, your thankful may simply be waking up another day or being surrounded by friends when the world seems to be falling apart around you. It’s on these days that it’s most crucial to recall those common, everyday blessings we often take for granted. These are hidden gems that continually turn our hearts back to the goodness of our Father, serving as reminders that there is always, always something to be grateful for.
Tell me, friend, what are you thankful for today? Does your answer come quickly or is it buried beneath the day’s troubles? If you’re having difficulty finding it, may I encourage you to not give up the search? Pursue your hidden gem. Refuse to say goodnight until you’ve settled on that one thing you can be thankful for today. And then keep at it, day in and day out, until you encounter the sweetness of a thankful life.
And if you’re in need of a jumpstart, spend some time teaching your children and grandchildren to thank God for the good parts of their day. Their conversations with Jesus will warm your heart and usher you into your own heart of thankfulness–just as it does me each time I hear my grandchildren pray.
Meet Sheila Daniel
Sheila Daniel is a wife, a mom, and a Mim. She has been married to her husband, Brad, for thirty-four years, and has had the privilege of homeschooling all five of their children. Sheila began her public writing journey shortly after joining the “grandma” club six years ago, and recently released her debut novella, Escape and Rescue. When Sheila is not busy with her family or working on her latest writing project, she enjoys blogging at Faith Family Friendship.
Where to find her . . .
Begin Within is a series to inspire a year-round lifestyle of gratitude that will impact not only your own life, but the lives of your neighbors as well. Gratitude is a theme we talk about often around here because it ties so closely into other missional living rhythms. Practicing gratitude reminds to keep our hearts soft and expectant and our eyes open. Therefore, the more we embrace gratitude, the easier it becomes to truly see our neighbors and where we can join what God is already doing in our neighborhoods.
If you would like to contribute to Begin Within, you can find the submission guidelines here.
Creating Ripples
If you would like to cultivate rhythms in addition to gratitude that will empower you live on mission in your neighborhood, check out Cultivating a Missional Life: A 30-Day Devotional to Gently Help You Open Your Heart, Home, and Life to Your Neighbors. This small book will help you make a big impact in your neighborhood as you learn to let missional living flow from the inside out. Get the 30-day missional living challenge free when you purchase the book.
