by Lorinda K. F. Newton

“L-a-nd, ho!” the Mayflower lookout yelled.

After over two months on stormy seas, the small ship carrying 102 passengers reached the New World on November 9, 1620. The Pilgrims praised God and celebrated by reading Psalm 100. Later, William Bradford wrote

“…they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element.”

The Pilgrims are remembered for giving thanks for their first harvest, a celebration we continue as Thanksgiving Day. Not only did they give thanks then, but also, they practiced the biblical principle of thanking God in all circumstances—the good and the bad. Their example of gratitude can inspire us to follow in their footsteps and pass on this virtue to our children. For education is not only the 3Rs but also character training.

Sometimes gratefulness wells up in our being when someone helps us in a special way. Other times, we must choose to count our blessings when life takes a turn for the worst. Having a thankful heart doesn’t always come naturally. This discipline must be cultivated in one’s life.

I’ll be upfront. I have not mastered this personal discipline. I tend to be more of an Eeyore than a Pollyanna when trials come. This is a lesson I need as well.

What Is Gratitude?

Merriam-Webster defines gratitude as “a feeling of appreciation or thanks.” In her book,  Thanksgiving: A Time to Remember, Barbara Rainey describes gratitude regarding Thanksgiving Day:

“Gratitude is what we express when we take time every Thanksgiving Day to remember God’s past mercies and provisions and then pause to thank Him for them.”[i] 

Health Benefits from Gratitude

The practice of gratitude offers mental, emotional, relational, spiritual, and even physical benefits to those who practice it. Just as stress and depression can damage our health, gratitude can improve it.

According to research by Dr. Paul Mills, a strong link exists between mental health and heart health. He designed a gratitude survey for 182 men and women. He found that those who showed more gratitude were healthier and had lower inflammation markers than those with less gratitude in their lives.

From other research described in the article “Gratitude is Good for the Heart and Soul,” the author found that people who practice gratitude experienced these outcomes (quoted list):

• Improved personal and work relationships
• Better physical health
• Greater empathy, sensitivity, and connectedness with others
• Higher self-esteem
• Increased happiness
• Better self-care
• Increased mental strength and resilience
• Higher optimism
• Better sleep; plus, good night’s sleep also promotes gratitude
• Reduced stress and anxiety
• Diminished aggression
• Less focus on material goods

Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy said that: “If [thankfulness] were a drug, it would be the world’s best-selling product with a health maintenance indication for every major organ system.”

To receive these health benefits, explore ways to cultivate gratitude in your life and in the lives of your children. A habit such as this learned early can last a lifetime.

Ways to Develop Gratitude

Several articles on gratitude suggest many ways to cultivate this healthy personal discipline. Here are some examples:

• Start your day with thoughts of thankfulness.
• Say “thank you” to people or write them thank-you notes.
• Count your blessings.
• Pray a prayer of thanksgiving.
• Stop to smell the roses.
• View good things as gifts, not entitlements.
• Be grateful for people, not just things.

Many suggest keeping a gratitude journal. See “Tips for Keeping a Gratitude Journal” for ideas. Often, life planners include a place to list things you are thankful for as well.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving Day is an excellent time to practice thankfulness. Here’s a list of activities that the whole family can do to develop thankful hearts.

• Create a Thanksgiving Tree: My family did this several years ago with a kit from Oriental Trading Company. This website offers numerous craft kits that focus on gratitude.
• The Thanksgiving Gratitude Game.
• Create a Gratitude Jar. My sister has done this for years. She adds something she’s grateful for on a slip of paper when a significant event occurs.  Then she looks over them on New Year’s Eve. Others add to their jar once a week.
• Make a Thankfulness Chain.
• Have a Gratitude Photo Scavenger Hunt.
• Play the Thankful Alphabet Game: This is similar to the road sign alphabet game. Someone starts by saying something they are thankful for that begins with the letter A. The next person tells what they are grateful for that begins with the letter B. Keep going until you reach the end of the alphabet.

Read these quotations, Bible verses, and poems on thankfulness if you need some ideas to spur your creativity. These songs may help as well:

• “Thankful Heart” by Petra.
• “Thankful Heart” from A Muppets Christmas Carol.
• “Thankfulness Song” from VeggieTales Madame Blueberry.

Gratitude Sometimes Requires Sacrifice

Giving thanksgiving sometimes comes naturally. Other times we must choose to be grateful, and God calls this choice a sacrifice of thanksgiving. We decide to take our eyes off ourselves and focus on God.

• “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving” (Psalm 50:14a).
• “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me” (Psalm 50:23a).

Even the Pilgrims chose gratitude over grumbling. Despite a hard winter during which half of their population died, they chose to thank him for what they had instead of being angry or bitter over the loss.

Let us do the same and serve as role models of thankfulness to our children.

Lorinda K. F. Newton began homeschooling her children in 2004, and her family joined Academy Northwest in 2014. Her family lives on beautiful Whidbey Island north of Seattle, Washington. She writes about faith, culture, and governing from a biblical worldview at Lorinda’s Ponderings. ©2021 by Lorinda K. F. Newton.

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[i]       Rainey, Barbara. Thanksgiving: A Time to Remember (A FamilyLife Book). Crossway Books, 2002, p. 45.