A Thanksgiving Day Challenge!

This morning I stopped to fill up my gas tank and couldn't believe my eyes—gas was 30 cents cheaper than last week!  After I filled up, I went inside, and the coffee was on special for just $1. With Thanksgiving approaching, I felt that was a good example of something to be grateful for, so I shared it on Facebook.

And do you know what the response was?

A few people got upset about it, because of the politics of the fuel prices coming down. And that’s sad to me.  We've become a society that complains about high prices AND also complains when the prices go down. We've trained ourselves to find fault with everything, even good news!  And we wonder why we’re so unhappy!

Scripture reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to "give thanks in all circumstances." Not just when everything's perfect, but in all circumstances, including when gas prices drop and coffee costs a dollar.

I've made it my practice to actively notice and celebrate when things go right. That cheaper fill-up? That's a blessing! That $1 cup of coffee? That’s a blessing!  Missing that squirrel that ran across the road in front of me?  That’s a blessing!  I look for those things.  I’ve always looked for those things.  That’s the way I choose to view the world.  Through gratitude.  Through God’s provision.  Through a lens of God’s love.  When we choose gratitude over complaint, we literally rewire our brains to see abundance instead of scarcity.

Here's my challenge for you today. Find one thing, just one thing, to be genuinely grateful for. Maybe it's a parking spot you found easily, a text from a friend, or yes, even lower gas prices. Don't just think it, but speak that blessing out loud, or write it down, or share it. But notice it, and be grateful for it!

Break that cycle of automatically complaining. Break that cycle of looking for things to be unhappy about.  Choose gratitude instead. The world needs more people living with an attitude of gratitude.  Because it doesn’t just change your attitude, but it changes the world around you, too.

~Pastor Todd Creason