With the Thanksgiving holiday now over and Advent just around the corner, I have been thinking a lot lately about gratitude. I have read the studies and heard the Ted Talks that remind us that those who live lives of gratitude are happier, healthier, more content with life and tend to have a deeper sense of well-being. But what does a life of gratitude look like? How does one actually practice gratitude ?
In the Christian Scriptures, in the 17th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, there is a story about ten lepers who are healed by Jesus. Out of the ten, one thanks Jesus, but the story tells us that he does more than simply say “thank you.” There are seven things that the tenth leper does that, taken together, teach us how to practice gratitude in our daily lives.
See. Return. Praise. Worship. Give Thanks. Get up. Go.
That is tenth leper gratitude. That is how one “practices gratitude.” What if, each day, you sought to live this practice? How might your life change? How might gratitude become not simply something that you practice, but an actual way of life?
Here’s a plan to get you started. Find a few minutes each day to reflect upon each of the questions below.
See
Where do you see the grace of God in your life today?
Return
How might you return to God today?
Praise
What words of praise are you moved to speak to God today?
Worship
To what acts of worship is God calling you today?
Give Thanks
For what do you give thanks to God today?
Get up
What is holding you down in your faith life today?
Go
Where is your faith calling you to go today?
God Bless your practicing gratitude now and in the days ahead.
Charlene Rachuy Cox - Retreats, Workshops, Consultations and Presentations 