Practicing Gratitude

by Laura George
http://thornsandbelles.blogspot.com/
Used with permission

It was an early summer morning at the hotel where I work. Occasionally while frequenting the industrial sized coffee pots used to prepare coffee for our event guests, I pass by members of the hotel's banquet staff. One such staff member, Jenn, was there preparing glasses for an event this particular day. She greeted me with a cheerful good morning and a compliment about how much she liked the top I was wearing.

Jenn is always smiling and complimenting those she comes in contact with. In fact, just a few days prior, she said my dress was pretty and that she wished she were as tall as me to be able to pull that style off. A week or so before the dress compliment, Jenn said my hair looked good. A month or so before that, she complimented me on my purse as I was walking out for the night.

I had an extra few minutes the morning we met at the coffee pots, so I decided to give her more than the standard "thank you" I always follow her compliments with. Thanking her not only for the compliment she had just given me, but also for the fact that she always compliments me, I then told her it makes me happy to see her at work. “Jenn,” I began, “you are always so nice to me. Your kind words impact my day in a positive way, and I just wanted you to know that.”

Expecting Jenn's reaction to my words to just be, "you're welcome," I was surprised when she began to share her own story with me. While Jenn continuously poured iced tea and water into glasses for the banquet function she was working on, she came right out and said, "a few years ago I almost died. So now I try to compliment everyone I see. I hope it makes them feel good because I am so grateful to even be alive."

She went on to say that while suffering from extreme weight loss and back pain so excruciating she was confined to her couch, she became addicted to prescription pain pills. Jenn was popping so many pills the pharmacy couldn't keep up and had to turn her away. Sadly, the medicine didn't even work! Nothing did. Over time, Jenn wasted away to around eighty pounds. Near death, Jenn was on her couch one night internally battling the horror of her impending death with the peace of dying and being freed from her pain. Her body was so sick, so weak, that her mind was letting go.

Later that night, Jenn's mother found her unconscious on the couch and paramedics brought her to the hospital. Spending three weeks under the care of various doctors, Jenn's weight increased and many tests were performed. Day after day, no one could tell her what was causing the pain she was experiencing. I can't imagine the level of frustration she must have felt knowing that something inside her body was broken and the experts just couldn't figure out what or why.

A neurologist finally came in and was able to determine that her issue was nerve related. He started her on a new medication and the pain instantaneously disappeared. Jenn is still taking this non-narcotic nerve medicine, and has not taken a prescription pain pill in years.

Completing the conversation, Jenn smiled up at me with her adorable grin and the lovely sweetness she displays on her face. She said, "I know people struggle all the time, but often they don't even know they're going through a crisis situation until the situation is over with. If I can say something nice to everyone I see, then maybe it will make a difference and give them the will to keep going."

Jenn makes a point of paying everyone she sees a compliment as often as she can because she is happy to be alive. In my opinion, Jenn has mastered the art of practicing gratitude because her compliments are genuine and come from her own extremely thankful heart.

There is always something in life that can irritate us, cause us anger or angst. Often our feelings are justified because our pain, whether emotional or physical, is real. However, particularly as we approach the season of Thanksgiving, there are three basic concepts we can adopt that will help us with the art of practicing gratitude.

One, we all have something to be grateful for. Some of us, like Jenn, have gone through some very difficult things in life and come out on the other side. Do you have parents, children, a spouse, friends, or other family members that love you, or that you love? Do you have food on your table, a roof over your head, and a Lord who walks with you daily? We all have at least one blessing we can be grateful for. To routinely focus on the bad things happening is a mistake. Focus instead on the good things that have already happened!

Second, turn your own gratitude into an opportunity to help others. As you go through your day, look people in the eye, smile, greet them, notice their needs, and find something to genuinely compliment them on. It can make a big difference in how they view their day.

And third, borrow the gratitude idea my friend at dinner had. Ask others around you what they are most grateful for over the past week, month, or year. Challenge them to be creative. Many of us do that during the Thanksgiving meal, which is an excellent way to focus on gratitude. But take it a step further. Make it something you do regularly. It can turn negativity right around to the positive. As a result, God will be honored and the people around you will be happier!

"Let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service
with reverence and awe." Hebrews 12:28

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18