Now that Thanksgiving is over, many of us forget to be thankful for the blessings in our everyday lives. During the Thanksgiving season, we are more prone to be thankful for our friends, family, houses, basic necessities, and God.
However, after the end of Thanksgiving dinner, we return home, and we quickly start thinking about Christmas. Rather than thinking and dwelling on all we are thankful for, we automatically start stressing over Christmas presents, more holiday get-togethers, and family tensions.
Rather than stressing over these things, it is important to continue to practice thankfulness even after Thanksgiving. Don’t stress over the next thing that has to be done.
Reflect on your Thanksgiving and all the things you heard others talk about at Thanksgiving. Maybe your mom, dad, or sibling said how thankful they are to have you, and this really made you feel loved. Reflect on these things rather than shrugging them off.
1. Be Thankful for God
Everyone can practice thankfulness after Thanksgiving by being thankful for God every day of the year. You do not only have to announce your thankfulness for God on the holiday of Thanksgiving. Rather, you can tell others how thankful you are for God every day of the year.
Tell the Lord how thankful you are for Him and allow yourself to be guided by Him every step of your life. God is helping you through every day and this is reason enough to thank Him as well as praise Him.
There is always a reason to be thankful to God. He is the One who created us, loves us without conditions, and gives us redemption. Even if things are going wrong in your life, you can always be thankful that God is with you through all of your troubles.
I have gone through many times in my life when I have felt like I had nothing to be thankful for. Due to the loss of loved ones and my own mental health struggles, I felt as though there was nothing good in the world. It could be that you have also felt like this at some point in your life.
It is at these times that we need to lift up our hearts in praise, thankfulness, and worship to God. He is always with us and He is not going anywhere. God doesn’t cause bad things to happen; however, He can bring good out of the bad situation (Romans 8:28).
Whenever you are feeling down, depressed, and heartbroken, turn to the Lord. Even if everything feels difficult, you can still give thanks to God for all of His goodness. It is because of Him that we have hope and it is because of Him that we can face the days without fear.
2. Be Thankful for Family and Friends
Practicing thankfulness after Thanksgiving can also be seen by being thankful for your family and friends. Many people across the world have no living family members left and many individuals do not have any friends.
If you have family and friends, give thanks to God that you have them. It is also important to show how you are thankful for them in your actions.
Maybe your sibling is back home for the holiday break, and you want to show them how thankful you are for them. Take them on a special day trip or just go out for lunch together.
By doing just one of these things can help your sibling feel loved and cared about. It will convey the message that you are thankful for them and that you are happy that they are in your life.
In the same way, sending a kind message telling your parents how thankful you are for them after Thanksgiving can make them feel really great.
Most parents love to hear from their children, and it brings a smile to their faces when your name lightens up the screen. Be honest and loving in your message and tell them how thankful you are that they are your parents.
Similarly, you can show your friends how thankful you are for them by talking with them on the phone or planning a get-together with several friends after the holidays. All of these small things can make a huge difference in your friends’ lives and make them feel valued.
These small acts of thankfulness can be done any time of the year. Being thankful for your family and friends doesn’t have to be a one-day-a-year occasion.
Rather, you can extend your thankfulness for them on any day of the year. This will keep your heart focused on thankfulness throughout the year — not just on Thanksgiving.
3. Be Thankful for Basic Necessities
Being thankful for basic necessities is also something that can help us practice thankfulness after Thanksgiving. Sadly, many of us take our basic necessities for granted.
If we have always had a house to live in, a bed to sleep in, and food on the table, it can cause us to not think about these things. Since these things have always been given to us, it can be hard to be thankful for them.
It is important that we start being thankful for these things because we never know if there will be a day that comes when we will not have our basic necessities.
We need to give thanks for these things because many people across the globe do not have access to clean water, safe food, or shelter.
Instead of taking these things for granted, we need to give thanks. It is a true blessing to be able to have a home, to have food, clean water, and a bed to sleep in.
These things might be seen as basic necessities, but they are not basic necessities for many people across the world. Be thankful for these things and allow your heart to never take these things for granted again.
Knowing that there are people across the world who do not have access to basic necessities might even lead you to help these individuals. There are many ministries and organizations that help people across the world have access to food, clean water, and shelter.
Try to get involved in one of these organizations or donate to the cause. In this way, you will be practicing thankfulness in a new way.
You are thankful for your own basic necessities; however, you are also extending your thankfulness in a way that helps others receive the same basic necessities. This will cause them to be thankful and they will truly be grateful for your kindness,
4. Continue to Practice Thankfulness
Being thankful is an ongoing process. If you continue to cultivate a heart of thankfulness, you will continue to not take anything for granted. Give thanks to the Lord for all of His greatness, goodness, and blessings.
Praise Him that He has blessed you with family and friends as well as basic necessities. There are so many things to be thankful for and it is important that we don’t overlook any of these things. Even if you are struggling this year, try your best to thank the Lord for at least one thing every day.
There are many thankful journals you can purchase to use, or you could use a journal, and write down a thing you are thankful for each day. By the time you get to next year at this time, you will have listed 365 things you are thankful for.
During hard times, you can look back at your list of thankfulness and it can help renew a heart of thankfulness in you. Thankfulness is a beautiful thing to cultivate and being thankful will help you see the world in a new light.
For further reading:
5 Lessons in Thankfulness from King David's Life
7 Inspiring Bible Characters Who Teach Us about Thankfulness
5 Lessons on Thankfulness from Hannah’s Prayer of Gratitude
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Kiy Turk
