Two simple words. But they can completely revolutionize our mindset and thinking. Truly, they can.
Years ago, I struggled through some pretty dark depression. My mind swirled with negative thoughts. They waged a war on me, especially in the dead of night. When I look back on those days, I see darkness overshadowing my memories, almost like it was always 4pm on a cold November day.
‘Thank you’ got me out of those days. ‘Thank you’ transformed my thoughts from dark and negative to grateful and full of joy. Please believe me when I say, ‘Thank you’ can save your life.
My counselor had me write three things at the end of each day that I was thankful for. I had a journal next to my bed and every night when I crawled into bed, I’d click on my bedside lamp and grab my journal and pen. And then I’d sit there in bed, pen hovering over blank paper, racking my brain for anything I could possibly say thank you for.
Some nights my list looked like this:
Thank you that I made it through today. Thank you for my family. Thank you for good food.
That list could take me 15 minutes to come up with. It was half-hearted and a struggle. But I did it. Every night. Mostly because I was willing to try anything to feel better and win the war against negative thoughts ruining my life.
What I didn’t realize in the midst of it, but can look back now and see, was that I was slowly but surely rewiring my brain. Did you know that when you choose to be thankful and grateful you actually cause new connections to be made in your brain, until those connections become your regular pathways? You actually change how your brain functions.
After a few months of doing this, it hit me that it was coming naturally. And not just at bedtime when I HAD to do it, but all day. I was starting to see things I could be thankful for in everyday occurrences without effort. I was becoming an optimist, just because I forced myself to be thankful. Suddenly, I didn’t have to force it anymore. It had become a part of me and had made me a better person.
This last year has been a hard one. We’ve faced a lot of change. God told me this past summer he was sifting.
But you know what, I am thankful. I have so much to be thankful for that I haven’t hardly had time to feel anxious or worried over what’s to come. Isn’t that cool? I’m telling you, choosing to be thankful has some consequences.
Consequences like an unquenchable joy, a deep trust in the One who loves me, and no room for anxiety. I’m not making this up!
Today, I can say Thank you, God, that we’ve had four months with Andrew at home with us. Thank you for giving Andrew his joy, health, and energy back and healing him from burn out. Thank you for providing while we trust. Thank you for a sweet new grandbaby. Thank you for true friends who have walked this journey with us every step of the way. Thank you for sifting out the good to make room for the great. Thank you for protection over us while we haven’t had insurance. Thank you for people who truly ask how we’re doing and not just how the job search is going. Thank you for being a great God who we can trust through anything and who never leaves us nor forsakes us. Thank you for making us thankful.
This list could go on and on and flows through my fingers as naturally as a stream babbling along.
If thankfulness doesn’t come naturally for you, start fighting for it. Right now, today. Grab a journal and a pen and force yourself to be thankful. Pretty soon, you’ll find you don’t have to force yourself anymore. Suddenly, one day, you’ll realize you’re just thankful all the time.
Desired Haven Farm 