Cultivating Gratitude.

It's time for thanksgiving and it's time for Thanksgiving. This is seemingly "the" designated time for thankful hearts and the actual day of Thanksgiving is in a couple of days. I think that it's valuable to slow in November each year and ponder gratitude. Some years ago Lea and I were prompted to think about gratitude, not primarily as a November rarity, but as a way of life. Here's the back story.

Our dear friend Emily sent Lea a book. It arrived in the mail and it was added to Lea's stack of future reads. Lea really enjoys reading. The book that Emily sent was titled "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. As Lea began to read 1000 Gifts it began to stir her immediately. Ann wrote about her awareness that God was inviting her to cultivate gratitude, actually tend her heart in growth towards gratitude in both really difficult times as well as simple daily living. Here's what she did. She got a journal and throughout the day as she became aware of something that she was thankful for, even what seemed to be the slightest thing, she would write it down. She writes winsomely that all of sudden, after a period of time of practicing this cultivation, that she wrote down the number 1000 and wrote something down that she was thankful for. It wasn't about the number, but hitting 1000 caused an awareness that something was happening in her. Her heart was changing. Gratitude was being cultivated.

As Lea read and shared about her reading experience, we were aware of the invitation from the Lord to begin to practice gratitude as a family. Lea and I were aware that gratitude did not come naturally and that some tending was called for. Here's what we did. At the end of our dinner time, we took a few minutes and each person present shared some things that they were aware they had noticed gratitude for during the day to that point. Sometimes a few things, sometimes many things. Each person jotted them down and we went around and shared out loud. ( We now write them down in a journal) The number was not the issue. Cultivating gratitude was. Years later, we continue to do it. There aren't as many around the table as there were when we started. It is still impacting us.

A lot has happened in the years that we have been practicing this. Sons have left for college and left home after college. I was fired from a long time job. Lea's mom has developed further dementia. Lots of soccer wins and losses for Trey. Learning about and loving new Korean friends. Two new daughters coming through marriage in the coming year Lord willing. All the while, practicing gratitude has had a profound impact on our lives.

So, let's practice. I'll start.

1. I am deeply thankful that you would take the time to read BuyTheField each week. It's humbling to offer words and not know where or how they will land. Thank you for valuing words. Thank you for valuing God's kingdom.

I thank God that He is cultivating hunger in you increasingly so that you would bury the treasure you've found, go and sell all you have and BuyTheField. The treasure is that good.

2. I am deeply thankful that God has thought for me, has thought for us. He thinks about us. How precious to me are your thoughts O God. How vast is the sum of them. Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand (Psalm 139:17-18). What a humbling thought. God thinks about you. God thinks about me. Wow.

3. Your turn.....

There's more.