There is a lot going on this time of year. Thanksgiving is coming up, which of course gets overshadowed by Christmas. Preparation for Christmas can be exciting, but it can also cause us a lot of stress. While many of us overlook Thanksgiving, I think it is a beneficial day to remember. The history of Thanksgiving, of really all holidays, is complicated and controversial. Yet controversy in the history of a single day does not have to affect how you remember and celebrate. If we considered all days of the year in their historical context, the truth is that evil has happened and does happen every single day. Do we allow that evil to cast greater shadows on today? Is that a way to live? We ought to make the most out of every day that is given to us. I’m not good at this, but I’m trying to be. So while I personally don’t feel a strong, personal connection to specific Thanksgiving traditions or to the pilgrims themselves, I try my best to give thanks on a day named for it. Even in secular circles, gratitude is known to be one of the most powerful ways to change your outlook in life. I try to practice gratitude every day, listing 5 things that I am thankful for in my journal. I phrase my gratitude journal (and many other things I write) in the form of a prayer informed by my faith.

Lord, I am grateful for…

For Thanksgiving, I want to crank up the gratitude. Not just in my own journaling and prayers, but I want to share that gratitude with others. What is it that you are grateful for? I have many things to be grateful for. I know that it is hard to be grateful at times. I don’t know what your suffering looks like, but I know that when I was in the deep pit of depression, finding things to be thankful for was difficult. During my recovery period, I tried to find at least 1 thing I was grateful for every day. After a while I started writing down 3 things I was grateful for. Now I write down at least 5 things I am grateful for every day. Most days I stick to just 5 things because I know I could go on and on, but occasionally I’ll write 10 or 15 things. This isn’t meant to sound like a brag. I just want to show that improvement is possible. For anyone struggling and feeling like you’re overwhelmed, drowning, lost in a dark fog, or hitting a brick wall, there is hope. I am living proof that there is hope. Please keep holding on.

I am grateful for many things in my life presently. I am grateful for mindfulness, a mindset that asks, “Why am I doing this? Is this the best use of my time?” It’s difficult to keep away from the comfort of consuming media, but when engaging mindfully I can consciously decide to do something like practice guitar or write something down. Sometimes I decide to watch a show, and that’s okay. I just don’t want to mindlessly and endlessly consume entertainment.

I am grateful for finding resources that speak to my goals. A while ago I uploaded a video to my YouTube channel where I talked about the dangers of dreaming, and why I’m quitting on dreaming. I haven’t been entirely successful, but I think many of the things I said in that video have the right idea. It’s not enough to have a dream. You have to have a goal. Once you have a goal, you have to make a plan. My trouble with the planning phase is that I usually don’t know what steps I need to get to my goal. This is why finding resources is important. There is also a danger in this though, where I can find myself consuming way more information than I can actually learn and apply. There has to be a balance between guidance and self-discovery. Part of the journey to success is failure, learning from failure, and learning to keep trying despite the failure.

I am grateful for the schools that Hannah and I are attending. The opportunities that we have been given through these schools are truly wonderful. While I am an online student, I learn a lot from my fellow students in our discussion spaces. I have the ability to study the Scriptures as deeply as I’d like to. Hannah has the ability to practice her art skills and pursue new ones as she desires. The staff of both schools have been very kind and understanding of the both of us, a privilege that we’ve not had at other schools.

I am grateful for the people I’ve met and interacted with on X. Like all social media, there is a flood of angry and negative content that can harm the users mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. On the other hand, there are also lovely people who can be found and spoken to, who otherwise I would never meet because I don’t go far from southern Ohio.

There are many other things I am grateful for that I haven’t addressed in depth: family, friends, food, shelter, and so on. I could go on for quite some time.

To keep from being too longwinded here, I’ll close with gratitude for God reminding me to not lose sight of the bigger picture. When I get caught up in my blessings, I can sometimes twist them into a curse. School becomes a burden when I lose sight of why I am doing it. I get bogged down in the stress of all the assignments and worrying about my grades. The Lord recently directed me to think hard about what I want in this life. What is my plan A? Why am I doing what I’m doing? Ultimately I want to live a simple, godly life with Hannah and hopefully with our future children. The career isn’t quite so important, because it isn’t all of who I am. Still, I want to do something enjoyable and I find myself thriving when I can study and teach Scripture. This is why I’m a Biblical Studies major. While I’m not yet where I want to be, I am doing things that get me closer to it. All of this is only possible as God allows, and I am grateful that He is allowing us to go to school.

I hope that you will take some time to practice gratitude today and beyond as we approach Thanksgiving.

Grace, love, peace, and blessings to you.