This is the fourth in a 5 part series about rediscovering and strengthening your faith. While we each grow up in a different environment, we all learn about traditions, family values, and cultural practices. We may even be raised in a household with specific religious beliefs. Then, as adults, we have the opportunity to make our own decisions about what we choose to believe based on all we’ve learned growing up.

That brings to mind a question whose answer could limit our behavior based on what’s happening around us. Is what we believe religion or faith? Religion is really more about rules and practices while faith reaches to the core of what you believe about your creation, your life, and even your own mortality. During challenging times, it’s common to question your faith by exploring what you truly believe. With the uncertain times we’re living in right now, I know I’m even exploring my own faith. I’m not sharing my thoughts and perspectives to praise or criticize anyone’s beliefs. I use my own road as an example of how to navigate the journey on your way to finding your faith. Over the next five months I want to encourage you to explore five unique elements of faith that will help you clarify what you believe and give you the confidence to live your life in genuine response to those beliefs.

Part 4: THANKFULNESS

You don’t need to reach very far to feel the heartbreaking impact of the global pandemic. This year has hit each person, each family, and each generation in different ways. Maybe you’ve lost a family member, friend, or colleague. Perhaps you experienced a lay off from a job you needed and truly enjoyed. Maybe things feel different because you or your kids have been going to school on-line instead of in person. You may have felt forced to retire, or robbed of the freedom retirement is supposed to offer. Maybe you’ve had to cancel plans to travel, get married, graduate, or do any number of things that, in any other year, would just happen.

I too am struggling with the circumstances in which I find myself this year. I’m not going to share the details because they’re probably not much different than yours. By now, you’re probably thinking, “Wow, Jim, isn’t this blog supposed to be motivational?”

Yes, it is. Rather than complain about my situation, I’d like to offer a different perspective, and some tools to help us all get through these challenging times. We need to do more than just “get by”. I promise to not start a single sentence with, “Well, at least…”

It would be difficult to talk about my journey of faith without mentioning how the Bible continues to have an impact on my perspective. One of my favorite entries in scripture is Philippians 4:6-7.

“6Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Are you, or is anyone you know, “anxious about anything”? What if we changed the conversation? What if every one of us stopped talking and thinking about what we couldn’t do, didn’t get to experience, or should have been enjoying long enough to realize what we can do, what we have experienced, and how blessed we truly are?

With Thanksgiving only days away, I encourage you to prepare your heart and mind to focus on thankfulness. You may not feel very thankful right now. However, there is a delicate balance. In life, not everything goes well, but not everything is horrible either. Practicing thankfulness takes a conscious effort. Here are three ways I’ve discovered that we can all use to focus on thankfulness in our own lives.

The Blessings Bucket
This is a technique I discovered a few years ago. It makes for a humbling start to each new year. You’ll need a large empty plastic container, a small 3×3 note pad, and a pen. Each time you think of something you’re thankful for, write it on a sheet of paper, fold it in quarters, and drop it into the container. There is no limit on how many sheets you can place in the container. On New Year’s Eve, dump out the bucket and read each entry. I actually keep them as a road map and a reminder of situations, people, and events that have made a positive impact in my life.

The Grateful Challenge
If you want a more concentrated boost, this technique will help change your perspective in one week. For seven days, write down three people, things, or situations for which you are thankful. Keep the list somewhere you can get to it quickly. Then, when you are having a tough day or going through a difficult situation, read that list to help you refocus your perspective.

Everyone Shares One
This is an activity you may want to add to your Thanksgiving dinner. Have each person at the table share one person, thing, or situation for which they are thankful. You can make this even more personal by having them share something they are thankful for about the person sitting next to them. This activity doesn’t need to be limited to one holiday per year. Maybe you’d like to try this once a week with whoever is at your dinner table.

Of course, I also have a fourth way to focus on my thankfulness. I believe in sharing my thanks and my requests in prayer. I bring what’s on my heart to God in daily prayer. I start by thanking Him for who He is, all He has created, and for my salvation through Jesus. Then, I pray for specific people and situations in my life, for those who are sick or hurting, for our country, and for the world. While things don’t happen or change in an instant, I do feel a sense of peace. Even in life’s storms, I am reassured that God is at work in my life and the lives of others. If you look, you will see God’s hand at work in subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, ways.

If there is one thing we’ve all been reminded of this year, it’s that life is more fragile than we might like to admit. Yet, in all the chaos, having the ability to slow down and really consider the good we each have in our lives can help to refocus our perspective. I thank God for the many blessings in my own life. Not just on Thanksgiving, but each day and every moment of it.