I got a gratitude infusion the year we had four international students come to our home for a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner. Correction: traditional with the addition of a couple of Chinese dishes provided by two of the students.
The memorable part came when I placed paper cups holding three kernels of popcorn at each place setting. Each year at our Thanksgiving Day table, our family shares three things we are thankful for. But would our guests, who were a mixture of cultures and faiths, understand what we were doing?
I was shocked. The answers each person gave were deep, thoughtful, and reflective, all based on life experience that was not always easy. These young people had a far better grasp of gratitude born out of struggle than I have ever had. From that moment, Thanksgiving took on a new and deeper meaning to why we celebrate on this particular day. Without gratitude, the day is just another day to get together with family and friends.
Your Thanksgiving Day “Gratitude Infusion”
Maybe the popcorn idea won’t work for your crew on Thanksgiving Day. And maybe hanging a sign on your door banning the Grumps isn’t so inviting or charitable. But there’s all kinds of ideas you can do to infuse gratitude into this special day for everyone, including you. Best of all, many of these ideas can be done all year long, not just the week before Thanksgiving.
First Five
Before you get out of bed, name five things you are thankful for before your feet touch the floor. No getting out of bed until you do! Is your sleepy brain having trouble thinking? Use what you see, hear, and touch as prompts:
- Your spouse’s snoring.
- Your dog’s shuffling sounds, communicating he’s ready for you to be up.
- The sound of the furnace or air conditioner.
- Early morning light, spilling out from behind your light blocking curtains.
- The smell of coffee wafting from the kitchen and the footsteps of the person who made it for you.
- The cushy blanket pulled up to your neck.
Best part of the Day
This has been a long-held family tradition. At the end of the day, before our two girls went to bed, each member of the family shared their best part of the day. They had to limit it to one thing, and they couldn’t beg off by saying, “It’s just been a good day.” Then we prayed together, thanking God for His good gifts and for seeing us through the day.
After our girls went to college, they would call us, asking what our best part of the day was. So even if your children are grown and gone or if you live alone, you can still call or message someone each night and ask, “What was the best part of your day?”
Blessing Jar
This idea might be less intrusive than the three kernels of popcorn and would work well for a larger group. Place an empty clear jar, strips of colored card stock, and pens on the dining table or an entry table. Decorate the jar as you wish. Ask guests to write down something they are thankful for without signing their name. As is appropriate, after the meal, have someone read out loud some of the blessings that have been written down.
Recalibrating . . . .
Let’s admit. Thanksgiving Day can be hard. Grumpy cousins still come to dinner. Empty chairs haunt you with memories of the people who are no longer with you. Any of us—from the three-year-old upset that you won’t let them have another cookie before the Big Feast begins to the work-weary hostess who drops the turkey—are capable of meltdowns.
While we’d love to hang a sign on our door that day that says, “No Grumps Allowed,” the bad moments happen, and the negative feelings kick in. You can’t control the moods of others, but you can flip your own feelings from negative to positive by asking yourself, “What can I be thankful for in this situation?” And if you’ve earned the right to be heard by the person having a bad day or with the life habit of saying the negative, ask them gently the same question—“What can you be thankful for?”
The Gratitude Game
If your dining setup allows this, divide your crew into groups of 4-5 people. Give each a small writing pad and a pen. Set a timer for five minutes. Ask the group to take turns writing something they are thankful for, then past the paper and pen to the next person. The team with the most blessings on their list gets to—I don’t know—take home the rest of the pumpkin pie?
Gratitude is never out of vogue. The apostle Paul encourages us to be thankful in all things. Thanksgiving Day is a great time to get that gratitude infusion that strengthens you and yours to stay thankful throughout the rest of the year.
I hope that, this year, you overflow with gratitude so much, the people at your family gathering wonder why you are so zany happy about everything.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Want more prompts to keep that gratitude infusion going all year long? Karen Wingate’s book, Grateful Heart: 60 Reasons to Give Thanks in All Things is now available for preorder.
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