30 Days of Thankful: Day 7

Welcome to 30 Days of Thankful!  Today my friend Sara shares a beautiful lesson in thankfulness that she learned from her little daughter.

GUEST POST: By Sara Miller

Each night when we put our three-year-old to bed we share a list of the things for which we are thankful. This practice brings about some sweet memories and some really practical takeaways for myself (and maybe for you too.)

1 – When she was younger she used to say, “I’m thank you for …” instead of “I’m thankful for …” How true! We’re not just saying that we’re thankful for these things; we’re taking time to thank God for these things. A subtle but important reminder.

2 – The purity and simplicity of her list is sweet. Honey (my husband keeps bees) is always #1 and playgrounds are usually #2. The remainder of her list is sometimes consistent (cats and dogs) but other times it varies with the activities of our day. I’ve found that choosing gratitude can be easy, but can also be a stretch if I force myself to “vary” my list and find new things each day for which I’m grateful.

3 – Ending the day with mindfulness towards gratitude is refreshing and it gives good perspective on the challenges we may be facing. Who doesn’t benefit from perspective?

4 – For a few months my daughter always finished her list with the same four items: “daddy, daddy, snuggling with daddy, and daddy!” She would proudly say, “That’s 4 daddies!” (Can you tell she loves her daddy?) What a great reminder. At the end of my days, do I take time to say to MY heavenly Father, “thank you daddy for who you are, for being my daddy, for your presence with me, and for your Fatherly love for me”?

Reflecting on who God is and remembering His presence with me are a few ways I give thanks. Worship music is another.  Click here and take a few minutes to listen to “Good, Good Father,”a great song about our great God.

And I encourage you to start your own “thank you” list too!