How Gratitude Makes Life Meaningful

When our children reached driving age, Steve and I talked to each of them about their first car. We would pay half the amount, and they would pay the other half. We knew that if they invested a significant amount, they would be more thankful for their car and take care of it.

That is the way with anything in life. The more we are thankful for something, the better care we give it. This principle holds for material things, finances, our bodies, and even our relationships.

We’re usually very thankful for something when it is first purchased. We wash that car and make sure it’s running in tip-top shape. But we know the honeymoon is over when dead bugs cling to the windshield for days, dirt accumulates on the floor mats, and the paint is wearing the roads we’ve been driving.

When we are thankful for our finances, we take more interest in finding good buys and investments for the future. When it comes to our bodies, it often takes an encounter with impaired body function to make us thankful for our physical health. Then, we take steps to better care for ourselves.

Marriage is no different. If we are not thankful for our spouse, we will not nourish and cherish the relationship. When people forget all the beautiful reasons they chose their mate, they tend to magnify negative traits more and more.

Grateful to God

And so it is regarding our relationship with God. When we take the time to tell Him how thankful we are for all His benefits, our love grows for the Blesser, the source of all our blessings.

This Thanksgiving, let’s keep the Blesser as our top priority. Our praise and thanks to the Lord shield our hearts against a fruitless harvest. “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

Just as being thankful produces more diligent care for things like our cars, our finances, bodies, and relationships, thanksgiving to God will nourish a deeper relationship with Him.

Intentional Gratitude

The Secret to Health and Happiness: Gratitude Journal and Devotions makes intentional thanksgiving simple, inspirational, and encouraging. In it, you will find:

• Enough pages to journal one’s gratitude for a year
• Inspirational quotes and Bible study devotions that motivate readers to continue writing their blessings
• Over 100 gratitude Scriptures that provide daily inspiration 
• More than 130 gratitude prompts in 14 life categories to jog the memory of one’s blessings 
• The results of scientific studies presenting the numerous benefits of gratitude journaling

Have a blessed Thanksgiving celebration, and I pray that as you count your blessings – by writing them down – you will discover more thoughtful and “better care” in your life as you thankfully acknowledge the Lord in all your ways (Proverbs 3:6).

Related Post: Daily Gratitude Journal Sparks Victory