As we approach the holiday called “Thanksgiving,” it seemed appropriate to share some thoughts on thankfulness.  I considered pulling together an extensive list of things I consider reasons for which to give thanks to God.

I’m confident I could have compiled a lengthy list, and even included a few intriguing additions.  Yet it would have been my list.  And even if many of the things mentioned would have been fairly universal, it still wouldn’t have been your list. 

So here’s the tack I’m taking instead.  I’m encouraging all of us to make our own lists.  I will make mine; you make yours.

Nor is this simply a fun and entertaining exercise.  Rather, I suggest that it might be a crucial one!

The last several years have been tough for everyone.  We’ve all had our challenges, our frustrations, our setbacks and our losses.  Stress has struck us all; anxiety become far too common; emotional and mental duress too prevalent.  We’ve all been impacted in multiple ways, and many seemingly more negative than positive.  We bear the scars of painful wounds. 

Consequently, the temptation is to dwell on the downers.  But dwelling on downers isn’t healthy.  In fact, it can become downright depressing.

If you recognize that this is the land where you’ve been living lately, then making a list of your blessings becomes more of a necessity than a meaningless exercise.  If this applies to you, I encourage you to seriously consider tackling this task.

Here are some suggestions that might be helpful:

1. Dedicate a set amount of time for compiling your list.  Give yourself as many minutes as possible!

2. Retreat to a comfortable place.  Go there when you expect to have quiet time for serious thought.

3. Physically record your blessing list.  Whether it’s pen on paper or fingers on keyboard doesn’t matter.  What does is that you have a reference point when finished.  (Of course, technically you would never finish the list of God’s blessings, but you did set a timeframe for this assignment.)

4. Begin with the significant blessings!  List as many as you can.  (Don’t neglect your spiritual ones, which are the most significant blessings of all.  And abundant too!)

5. If you can’t think of any more “big” blessings, then go back to the beginning of the list and start adding the “littler” blessings that are included in the big ones.

6. If you actually manage to complete this task in your allotted time, continue by summarizing some of the challenges in your life.  Then list the blessings that are wrapped up in those unpleasant packages.  (Trust me, there are some.  Or rather, trust God!)

Some might feel the best approach is to begin with suggestion 6 instead of suggestion 4.  If you think this would be more advantageous to you, then by all means start with 6!

Or take a hybrid approach: list 3 significant “good” blessings, then 1 “not-so-good” situation, along with the blessings resulting from it.  Do it however you deem best, but do it nonetheless.

I haven’t made my list yet, but I will offer a few speculations on the results of literally counting our blessings.

I suspect our lists will end up being significantly longer than we ever would have dreamed.  And undoubtedly our time ran out before completing them!

I also suspect that we will naturally gravitate to an attitude of supreme gratitude when we consider how very blessed we are.

So go ahead.  Count your blessings!  And after doing so, please give appropriate thanks to our good God who provided you with too many blessings to count. 

Finally, please share your observations from your count in the comments section below.  I’ll be glad to hear from you.

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Ephesians 1:3, 7-8
³  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. … ⁷  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸  that he lavished on us.

Psalm 136:1-3, 26
¹  Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.
²  Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.
³  Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.
²⁶  Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.