Christmas is in two days and many of us are excited and busy preparing for time with our families. For others, life is challenging right now…

It has been one of those weeks where I am left pondering the meaning of it all.  There has been another school shooting too close to home, a friend of a friend lies in a coma and a dear friend’s teenage daughter continues to battle a brain tumor. Where is the light? The sunshine? The silver lining?

I am a big gratitude junkie, but it’s these kinds of realities that cause me to pause.

I always struggle because I believe deeply in gratitude changing everything.  I just feel like my suffering isn’t as great as others and that leaves me feeling like I don’t know what I am talking about.  I don’t know how I would feel if it was my daughter with a brain tumor.  I’d like to believe that I would find my way to gratitude, but I am not in their shoes, thankfully.

I know that many people who will read this are hurting right now.  I want to respect your pain, not trivialize it.

And I believe there is a place for gratitude in everything.  Don’t get me wrong, I have been angry and absolutely refused to look for “the bright side” or “the silver lining.”

There is value in asking the question: How do we find gratitude when things are really tough?  

For me, it’s about digging deep and focusing on the things I can be thankful for and realizing that I can’t see the whole story.  When we realize that we don’t know the whole story, our perspective changes. There is hope in not knowing.  There is hope in allowing for the possibility of goodness coming from the bad.  I am lucky because I have seen blessings come from suffering and when that suffering struck twice, I had hope that there would be goodness.  I remember being in the hospital and being angry and then thinking, “I need to be grateful because I don’t know what kind of blessings could come from this.  I don’t know the whole story.”  The more we practice this, the more we turn to gratitude, even in the smallest things, fear dissipates and peace takes its place.

fear dissipates and peace takes its place.

There are always things to be grateful for.  I understand that when you are sitting in a hospital room, watching your child endure something awful, it feels like the last thing you could or even want to do, is find gratitude. Sometimes, we need time and space. When we focus only on fear, there isn’t room to see the blessings. Be thankful for the doctors, for the support of your family and friends, or for the moment of laughter you share over your roommate’s butt hanging out of their hospital-issued gown! Finding these moments of gratitude lead to peace and joy.

This Christmas, be mindful that many are struggling and fighting their own battle. Let’s be grateful for the lives we have and the moments we share with those most important to us. Embrace your loved ones, dig deep, find peace.  Gratitude changes everything.

Peace & Gratitude,

Lowi