Many years ago, during a difficult time in our lives, several friends provided us with a turkey for Thanksgiving. The direction our path had taken was both devastating and unforeseen but for this moment in time, I was overwhelmed with a sense of richness, as my family sat down to our Thanksgiving dinner. There were many dark days to come before our circumstances gradually shifted with new opportunities and unexpected solutions. However, the sense of excitement our family felt over this bountiful meal will always be one of my best memories of Thanksgiving.

Gratitude for all we have is a practice to cultivate even when, or especially when, our realities do not match up with our dreams, or even our needs. We can view the proverbial glass as half-full or half-empty. Choosing a positive lifestyle is not always easy. Pain, loss, fatigue, anxiety, lack and shattered hopes can reduce the light we hold to a bare flicker.

Here are a few ways to intentionally build gratitude into your life:

Look Back

In the Old Testament, the children of Israel are constantly reminded to remember what God has done for them. After a victorious battle against the Philistines, the prophet “Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer saying,’Thus far the Lord has helped us'”(1 Samuel 7:12, NIV).

Find your Ebenezer. What has God done for you in the past? What prayers have been answered? Has a situation been resolved in an out-of-the-box manner that you hadn’t thought of? Place your Ebenezer before you. Trust that the power of God in the past is still there in your current circumstances.

Look Around You

What blessings are in your present? In what areas are you experiencing joy and plenty? An excellent practice is keeping a gratitude journal. Write down each day a few things you are thankful for. Include the good things you see happening in the lives of others. The more you practice gratitude, the more exponentially appreciative you will become of the small and large blessings already evident.

Look Ahead

What is your vision for your future? What are your hopes and dreams? What is God calling you to do? Our lives will not always look like we had expected them to. We all experience difficulties. Look towards the future, though, with faith, not fear. Pay it forward by being grateful for all the good things which lie ahead.

This year, we were able to make a contribution to another family’s Thanksgiving meal. We also celebrated a tradition with our own family of going around the table and sharing something we are thankful for.

All year long, let’s choose gratitude as a way of life.

Happy Thanksgiving!