DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
“I’D LIKE TO THANK…” | DAY 4 of 40 (LENT)

“I’d like to thank” will begin many speeches at the Academy Awards tomorrow. Recipients will gush thanksgiving to the Academy, their agents, parents, spouses, even God.

This got me to thinking… what if we lived our lives with this constant “I’d like to thank” refrain in mind? Not just for rewards we receive, but for everything, good and bad?

When the SUV cuts us off in traffic or almost side-swipes our car, what if we said, “I’d like to thank…you, for not actually running me off the road. I’m not hurt. You’re not hurt. Breathe in. Breathe out. OK.” Is it possible to flip it?

Whether attending Oscar festivities, hunkering down at a survival-job-to-make-ends-meet gig or giving birth to a beautiful bundle of joy (shot out to Skyler), what if we took a moment today and found a reason to say “Thank you”.

Life may currently be the pinnacle of our dreams or the tailwind of a nightmare, but finding something to be grateful for could make all the difference in the world.

Last Thanksgiving, the New York Times ran an article by John Tierney called “A Serving of Gratitude May Save the Day“. He reported that psychologists found that “cultivating an ‘attitude of gratitude’ has been linked to better health, sounder sleep, less anxiety and depression, higher long-term satisfaction with life and kinder behavior toward others…” Awesome, right?!

Tierney continued with a study that found that people who wrote 5 things for which they were grateful once a week for 8 weeks (1 brief sentence per item) reported being more optimistic and happier and had fewer physical problems.

Life is not always easy. As a matter of fact, it can be downright difficult, especially with this economic roller coaster we’re on. But somewhere along the way, if we can muster up a ‘Thank You’ at least once a week, science says, things look a little better.

King David taught us how to do this in PSALM 30. I really like this translation from The Message Bible.

READ PSALM 30, The Message.

As we see, David does not ‘pretend’ bad times aren’t bad. He acknowledges when things are crappy. Then, he thanks God for when “the nights of crying your eyes out give way to days of laughter”(Vs.5). David credits God for changing “wild lament into whirling dance”(Vs.11); and says, “I can’t thank you enough”(Vs.12).

What if we did that today?
What if we didn’t pretend?
What if we looked over the last week and acknowledged the good, the bad and the ugly, and said, “I can’t thank you enough”?

Even if we are angry about a horrible situation that we’re in, at no fault of our own (job loss, bankruptcy, sickness), what if we said, “I’m angry, but I’d like to thank you God that I’m actually alive another day, and I can feel something. Bring on the day when my wild lament becomes whirling dance”, or hip hop, or bungee jumping… whatever our thing is.

Is that possible?
C’mon! Let’s imagine we’re in our designer dress or tuxedo (or maybe we’re in our pajamas); but now it’s our turn to approach the microphone.
Let’s do like those mentioned in the study above and say 5 brief things that we are grateful for this week.

I’d like to thank:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Not so bad, right?!
Now, I’d like to THANK YOU for participating.
Go forth!

FYI, our weekends during our 40-day journey of devotions through LENT season (ABOUT LENT), will be a time of reflection and thanksgiving. Traditionally, during LENT, SUNDAYS are considered mini-celebrations (symbolizing Christ’s resurrection) following FRIDAYS’ special times of fasting (symbolizing His death). Thus, LENT starts on Ash Wednesday and goes for 46 days ending Easter, but the 6 Sundays are excluded, equaling 40 days. Get it? We make a sacrifice of something meaningful for the entire 40 days, but Sundays are excluded. So, Saturday, you’ll get a devotional that you can meditate on for the entire weekend. If you have any questions, please let me know. Thanks!