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“A joyful heart is good medicine…”
Proverbs 17:22 ESV

Gratitude is an invitation to joy and joy is impervious to circumstance. Yet, some things take practice. Gratitude was one of those things for me following my husband’s death. As children of the sovereign God, Creator and loving Savior, we have so much for which to rejoice. So much He has given us, is giving us, and will give us. How blessed to be eternally His own!

We can all think of examples of how practicing the right things can produce physical, emotional, mental, and/or spiritual health. However, I will confess the practice of gratitude takes more work in the grip of grief. At least for me. We are going to grieve because we love, but gratitude is worth practicing. It’s sunlight to our souls. Gratitude releases neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin which benefits our emotions, relieves stress, helps with sleep, and lightens our hearts.

I love our AWM Facebook focus every Friday on blessings. Counting our blessings is a treasure to our hearts and Christ. Since He is unchangeable, whatever our circumstance may be, reasons abound for gratitude.

GRATITUDE for GOD:

The whole Bible is the story of God’s relationship with His creation–mankind. How loved we are that Almighty God would bow to walk among us; to teach, heal, deliver, die for us, and resurrect from the dead. Death could not hold the Lord of Life! Requests of our Heavenly Father, we make as members of Christ’s body, grafted by our faith in Christ into His family tree.

We have an eternal future which the ascended King of Kings prepares for us. Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit is here to teach and comfort us. We are cherished. We are immeasurably and unconditionally loved. Nothing is too great for Him, nor the smallest thing beyond His attention. We see God’s care of us in His character, the fruit of which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22).

GRATITUDE for PAST BLESSINGS:

As we have shared together, we grieve because we loved and do love our husbands. Each precious minute with them was a gift. Even erupting in tears at the grocery store at the sight of an item I especially bought for my husband, I can cherish how well we knew each other. It made my heart glad to bless him. That is love.

My husband and I asked a question when the other person seemed out of sorts. It was, “Are you off?” Often, he knew before I did if something was bothering me. That is intimacy.

To have shared life and love with our husbands is a treasure, and one some people never find.

GRATITUDE for PRESENT BLESSINGS:

As a new widow, even current blessings were shadowed by my husband’s death. Yet God’s grace made the seemingly insurmountable possible. Think already what you have accomplished. God’s kindness through others, even the blessing of a smile from a stranger on a tough day, a butterfly in my yard, the company of my dog Winston, are reasons for gratitude.

Precious Lord, fill our souls with the light of gratitude as You help us to recognize our blessings in You, our past, and our present. In Christ. Amen.