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New Article: Overflowing with Thankfulness

 


On the evening of Tuesday, November 11, many people left the warmth and comfort of their homes to stand in the cold on dark, rural roads and look at the night sky. They were lured by the promise of spectacular Northern Lights, and they were not disappointed. Personally, I do not remember ever seeing them so bright and red. Stretching right across the sky and even over the top of us, they were amazing!

The next day, my Facebook feed was flooded with pictures of the Northern Lights. It was as if people could not help themselves. They had seen something so beautiful and amazing that they had to acknowledge and share it.

To me, that is a good picture of what gratitude should look like in our lives. Our blessings should overwhelm us to the point that we must see, celebrate, and share them. Thanksgiving should not be a one-time, limited, “Oh, isn’t that nice!” affair. Rather, it should be a constant mindset and the lens through which we see our world.

To that point, it is interesting to note that, in the Bible, the word that most often modifies the idea of gratitude is “overflowing”. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him… overflowing with thankfulness!” (Colossians 2:6-7). “The grace that is reaching more and more people [is causing] thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:15).

Gratitude makes a difference. As someone pointed out, “Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are. It solely relies on what you think”. Or, as Marc and Angel Chernoff state, “No amount of regret changes the past. No amount of anxiety changes the future. But any amount of gratitude changes the present”.

Practice seeing the good in everything instead of focusing on the bad. Let your thanksgiving grow and overflow. Doing so will change your life.

“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).

Could you be described as overflowing with thankfulness?

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