Some days, I’m just not feeling the grateful spirit. It’s Thanksgiving week, but there are still moments I’m finding myself less than grateful.
Yesterday morning, for example, during our homeschool community day, I was struggling to keep my attitude grateful or positive in any way. My daughter was pushing every button imaginable. She was not following the rules. I was frustrated and found my patience running very thin after having to redirect her multiple times.
This whole experience left me feeling less than grateful. In fact, I found myself feeling pretty grumpy much of the day. I was disappointed in my daughter’s behavior. I was feeling like throwing in the towel on this whole parenting gig.
As moms, there are times that can we can feel overwhelmed, discouraged, frustrated, angry – need I go on? So what do you do when you are finding it hard to be thankful, especially during Thanksgiving week?
I shared my thoughts about this on Persicope yesterday, so if you want to watch rather than read, just click here.
- Read and listen to other people’s stories.
This past couple weeks, I’ve been following a friend of mine as she and her husband have been in the Ukraine, in the process of adopting 2 teenagers. I’ve traveled a lot to dark places. But once again, each time I hear stories and see photos of one of these places, it is sobering. As I have read her updates, I have found myself tearing up many times, simply recognizing the life that these children have led.Becoming aware of other people’s stories – things outside of myself – helps me to appreciate all the blessings of my life. When I read or listen to these stories, it helps me to take the focus off my own problems and onto the bigger picture.
- Pray.
This seems simple, but so often I forget this and save it for a last resort. But honestly, when I am overwhelmed, or not feeling grateful, prayer is something that can completely change my attitude. Angry? Frustrated? Sad? Just talk to God about it – He can handle it.I don’t have to edit my feelings when I talk to God. I don’t have to pretend I have it all together, because He already knows how screwed up I am.
- Write down what you are grateful for.
You may have heard this before – count your blessings, name them one by one. Well, there’s truth to this. Ann Voskamp wrote a whole book about it! There is power to writing down each and every little gift, blessing, moment.
I don’t know if it’s realistic to think that we can always FEEL grateful. But I do think it is possible to always BE grateful – to have an attitude of gratitude, even when things are not going our way. Being grateful doesn’t mean that we hide the hard stuff, or that we deny it’s happening. But it can mean recognizing the positives in the midst of the negatives.
Which one of these things do you think would be most helpful to you to put into practice, or do you have a different tip that may help me or others? I would love to know your thoughts – please comment below!
