Being Thankful was a Game-Changer

I would have never thought that being thankful could be a game-changer for me. Culturing a thankful heart can change you too!!

I was at a crossroads where two choices lay before me. One was to go on being melancholy until it grew into bitterness and the other was the road to thankfulness.

Are you struggling with depression or that heavy melancholy feeling? I woke up with that every. single. morning for quite a few years.

It is almost impossible to shake.

It is not possible to give you a five-point plan that will automatically kick depression to the curb and shoot thankfulness into your veins.

You can’t work thankfulness up. It just doesn’t work that way.

You can fake it.

You can pretend.

Actually, that isn’t entirely a bad idea because when you start to act like you want to feel, it will start to take hold little by little.

But what if your face feels like it is going to crack because you don’t smile much anymore?

What if it has been so long since you had a good laugh that your jaw feels stiff and laughing makes it hurt?

I’ve been there and know that when life gets extremely stressful, it can affect how you look at your life and the people around you. Being thankful is just not easy!!

That being said, I am sharing these thoughts with you today knowing that thankfulness doesn’t necessarily run over your cup the minute you start journaling about it.

Start a Thankfulness Journal

Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:20)

Have you ever thought of how powerful it is to start a thankfulness journal?

Journaling can be powerful especially when you record things you are thankful for. When your thankfulness is directed towards the Creator of the universe who died for your sins and set you free, it is only a matter of time before you will start to grow in thankfulness.

You could add a section for recording what you are thankful for in a journal you have already created or you could start a journal just for giving thanks.

This doesn’t have to be complicated. Simple is easy and doable while still being powerful. You can make thankfulness a game changer, simply by making a list of three things you are thankful for each day.

Even when I miss a day, just writing down 3 things in a gratitude list moves me towards being more thankful.

It has been a game-changer for me!!

Recording Things I’m Thankful for Stirred My Heart

To be honest, I didn’t feel a surge of thankfulness right from the start. If you are struggling with deep depression when serious things are happening in your life, it just isn’t that simple.

If this is where you are at, I know what you might be feeling.

BUT . . . This will seriously be a game-changer for you!!

Keep writing down 3 things you are thankful for each day.

Day after day.

God will begin to stir something in your heart.

You Can’t Work Up Thankfulness

You can’t work up thankfulness.

It is a God-game-changer.

God is the one who stirred my heart. I had to start by taking action in the daily task of writing my list out each day.

It takes brain muscles to think up what you are thankful for when all your thoughts are focused on the issues in your life.

It isn’t easy but it is so worth it.

And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation. Psalm 35:9

Let’s trust God like these tiny little birds no matter what is happening in our lives.

Turning Point

Several years ago, something devastating happened in my life that could have undone me. What satan meant for evil, God meant for good.

I had started to write down the things I was thankful for. The act of actually writing them out did something dramatic in my drama-filled life.

One day when I was at an all-time low, the hymn, “Yesterday, Today, Forever Jesus is the Same” started going through my mind over and over. I started singing it since no one was home ;-).

The Lord brought me to the point where I had complete victory over things I could not change. I am able to go on through the rest of my life giving thanks and praise to my God because of that day.

Writing down 3 things that I am thankful for is still something I do even though it has been a few years since my game-changing day.

I challenge you to start writing out 3 things that you are thankful for each day (or almost every day) as part of your daily routine.

Did this encourage you today? What do you do that is a game-changer for you? I’d love to hear about it!!