Why Should We Be Grateful?

Welcome (back) to my blog dear reader! I am so glad you are here. 😄 I hope you enjoy your time here.

HOW the snickerdoodles is it the end of November!? Thanksgiving is TOMORROW! This year has been flying by and I sometimes feel like I cannot keep up. (I swear it moves faster the older you get. Trust me I’m old now I know these things. 😄) Speaking of Thanksgiving I thought this week a good topic would be gratitude.

Why should we be grateful? Personally I think there are a few reasons gratitude is a good thing to practice.

First of all, y’all might have realized by now I love definitions. It’s the teacher in me. So, gratitude means: “The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” In short, it is a virtuous behavior. The crucial word for me in this definition is readiness because it reflects the willingness of the individual to acknowledge the kindness they have received from others and their willingness to return the gesture. This even applies to the things that God has done for us. More on that later.

The idea of being grateful during the week of Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to reflect on what has happened this year or even our whole lives. I encourage you, dear reader, to take time in the next few days to think about all the things for which you are grateful, whether they happened this year or not.

Thanksgiving is actually one of the four categories of Catholic prayers in which we thank God for all that He has done for us and given us. (Might do a blog post about the other three next year.) There are several ways that Catholics use prayers of thanksgiving in the Mass and daily life. My favorite time to pray in gratitude is after receiving the Eucharist and at the end of the day. So I wanted to use the end of this post to share some things about which I am grateful.

For me, I have done a lot of spiritual growth this year. God has shown me things about myself that have brought me peace. Even the things that have brought me more questions are bridges to the next step in personal growth. I am also deeply grateful that I have been able to bond more with my younger siblings this year as they have become adolescents. From things as simple as going to see a movie or as deep as talking about our faith, I am blessed by their company. Also, I cannot believe I have been blogging for almost a year. The number of things I have been able to write about and share on this blog has been varied for sure but I am proud of all of them.

The jobs that I have been working the last year have pushed me to do my best for the kids in my charge. And I cannot forget about all of the friendships that have started and or gotten stronger in the last year. I am incredibly lucky.

I hope y’all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and take some time to find the moments of the year that were some beauty in the crazy.

☀️💙