GRATITUDE JOURNALING. 

Colossians 2:6-7 is Christ My Anchor’s core verse and our vision is centered on it. Verse 7 says “…let your life spill over into thanksgiving……Some versions say “overflowing with gratitude.” and I hope that this will be a constant testimony in our lives.

If there is a reason people began referring to me as the “journaling ambassador”, it is because of gratitude journaling. I preached this gospel to anyone who would listen and it naturally found its way into most of my conversations. My friends can testify, for some it has taken as long as one year to convince them, some immediately, but I never gave up. I invested my time and energy to bring them on board because I have reaped the benefits of living a life that overflows with gratitude. I hope, by God’s grace , you will come along today.

 HOW IT STARTED

December 2017, I decided to take a random notebook to write my “testimony” and celebrate all the good things that had happened that year, as we like to do right? I listed about 12 items but I was left wondering if indeed I only had 12 things to be grateful for the entire year.While it is never about quantity, I knew there had to be more. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 was brought to mind and it says “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” . Had I really been grateful for everything throughout the year or had I just selected those I thought deserved to be listed down? I felt like I had a lot more to thank God for except I didn’t have a recollection of it because my mind failed me and was selective. So how could I reverse this? It was then that I thought to take up this art of gratitude as a daily act and not an end year ritual. That is how it was birthed for me. 2018 came around and I didn’t wait. I begun on the 1st of January and wrote consistently till December. I listed down everything I was grateful for without getting tired or seeing it as a repetitive act and my heart was immediately ushered into an atmosphere I had not been aware of…a continuous space and state of gratitude. I journal till date. 

People often ask why I am always so jovial, happy and cheery all the time. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 These fruits aren’t immediately evident in a believer’s life and they take time to grow and be evident in their lives. Do we leave it all to the Holy Spirit? No. He will be your helper but He certainly can’t do all the work; it takes one making the choice of tuning their heart to cultivate this fruit and joy starts from allowing yourself to be grateful all the time. The Holy Spirit Himself opens our eyes and our hearts to be able to see God in the little things, that would have otherwise been regarded as minute. He works with you and in you to open you up to a life of daily thanksgiving,if you let Him.

HINDRANCES

• One of the struggles that my friends expressed was that they didn’t have much to be grateful for daily because they were always in the same environments and that if they were to write it , it would be repeated all through. Is that a problem? No. Do we ever get tired of saying thank you for life? Why should we tire in saying thank you for the roof over our heads? You can be grateful for something more than once. It doesn’t take away it’s value. If anything, it shows that you do not take the said gift for granted. I believe, everyday has different experiences even with the same things.
• Another reason was that they didn’t have anything “major” happening to them. I will tell you from experience that I am mostly indoors, same environment, less human interaction and yet my gratitude list is never empty- I see Jesus in everything. His visitations are vast. Do not allow the constance of events block your heart. Like I always say, gratitude is not dependent on an event! You don’t have to wait for something to “happen” for you to grab your gratitude journal. It is a state of the heart and so it doesn’t matter if you have aced your presentation and got a promotion or if you made breakfast that everyone enjoyed : both are things to be grateful for. The problem is usually when we complicate and over analyze what we shouldn’t be grateful for. If you peeked at my gratitude journal you would be amazed because I am grateful for anything and everything, starting from people to things.Make that conscious decision and do not wait for events to happen

If I asked you to tell me what you were grateful for last week , would you remember? Chances are you wouldn’t but I can bet that there was something or someone that put a smile on your face; something you saw or an experience that warmed your heart, but you cannot recall because you left it to your memory. True?

• Lastly, some thought that simply because I journaled, I never experienced bad days. The verse clearly says :in everything give thanks….. I have had bad days and it was not an excuse to close the journal; I would sit there and be honest with God and say something like “God, my heart is breaking but I am still here to say thank you for this and this and this…my bad day won’t  rob me of my praise because even in this “bad day” I have seen you. Gratitude isn’t conditional. 

 BENEFITS

1. Gratitude is a solution for many things that corrupt our heart as believers: comparison, greed, envy and discontentment. When you are grateful, you look to you and God. It stops being about others because you have built a hedge around you that only allows you to look at what is in your own life and celebrate it.
2. Gratitude brings along peace. This is equally related to your mental well being and wellness in entirety starting from being able to sleep well, absence of illness and general happiness within you, which also spills over to people around you. It feels good to stay in a positive “mood” since instead of focusing on your problems, you choose to take control of your mind and focus on the good.
3. You begin to focus on what really matters. You are able to reorganize your priorities so well in that you know what to cut off. For instance, I was able to intentionally realize how much I valued relationships and directed my efforts towards nurturing them
4. It ends up uplifting your spirit. When you feel sad, your journal could have the solution because you are able to look at people you wrote and be grateful for them as well as the moments that made you smile. I make a habit of reviewing my gratitude journal often and I just did this past quarter and I was left feeling even more grateful that I didn’t leave all that to chance.
5. It is a form of staying in prayer constantly.One instance is when I was in a matatu headed home and I watched a young guy give a drink to an old  man who was seated begging on the street. It was during Valentines day and that warmed my heart. I was so grateful for that guy and I ended up praying for the old man as well. It may not have made it to an entry in my journal but I was able to pray in that moment and God hears. The Lord opens your heart to see what you would have otherwise missed if you weren’t consistently grateful and it is an opportunity to pray.

“Writing a Gratitude Journal will make being grateful as natural as breathing. It just happens without you realizing. It is like using a toothbrush, daily, for your mind”  Unknown

GUIDE TO GET YOU STARTED.

Someone you’re grateful for: relationships- Is it a trait in someone? Did they do something?Did they say something? In fact, are you just happy you get to do life with them?

Something you’re grateful for: What is near you that you are grateful for? Is it the good weather that has allowed you to go outside? Is it the internet that helped you do your assignment? Is it the fact that you have a good view in your home that allows you enjoy the sunrise or sunset? 

Something that happened:Did you get a job? A promotion? Aced your test? What happened? Did someone give you a lift when it was raining? Did someone offer to pay a bill?Did you have an opportunity that made your life better or the life of someone around you? What is something you are looking forward to? 

Random ones: What challenge did you overcome today that made you proud of yourself or made you a better person? What do you love about yourself? (Sometimes I just wake up and I am grateful for my smile or my height  lol) What compliment did you receive that affirmed something?

While people opt for listing in brief, I say go into details. The more detailed you get , the easier it becomes to connect with the emotion. It isn’t just about writing, do you feel? Do you connect? Why I also emphasize on details is that when you come back to look at it it won’t make sense if you just listed it. Chances are you will be a stranger going through your own journal.

Don’t just say: 

• Thankful for Sandra, she called me today.
• I am grateful for Ethan

I encourage you to be specific and say:

• I am thankful for Sandra, she called me and we had an amazing conversation which left me in a beautiful mood and she also shared an encouraging verse from Psalms 94:19. .
• I am grateful for Ethan, he taught me how to cycle, something I have always wanted to learn.

There is a time, one friend saw my journal and was wondering and amazed at what I wrote because she kept saying  “Even this?” . I see God in everything and that is it. When I publish a post,like today, I write it. When I have had a good conversation with someone, I note it down. When I feel loved, I write it. When I go to the salon and I do my hair or nails and they do it really nice, I thank God for their skill and them. I turn everything in my life into thanksgiving. Even the internet that allows me explore sermons and enable me to learn and grow in God, I write it .When I feel the peace of God and His joy early in the morning, I write. Basically, everything to me is thanksgiving. It never gets old or monotonous as some would say and neither do I list it because it just has to fill up in my daily record. I have connected greatly with gratitude that my life is a “gratitude story.” and you can too. It starts as a discipline but turns to a lifestyle. 

IS THERE A SPECIFIC TIME?

No there isn’t. Whenever you get the time to sit still and reflect on your day, do it. As for me I journal in the evening before going to sleep- when I have shut the world out and even put my phone aside. Occasionally, I can start off in the morning when I wake up because there are some reminders that usually just come to heart. Choose your own time and just start even if you have to write a dozen times a day. If writing, is not a preferred method for you, use the Gratitude App on Play Store, this even allows you to attach images. 

Starting it might be easy but maintaining it could prove to be a harder because it just adds up as one of the things you need to remember to do but once you get the hang of it, I promise you, it is worth it. It takes 21 days to develop a habit. Can you challenge yourself to take up this challenge and journal for the next 21 days?

Be thankful all year long. Don’t think too hard. Just start and watch the Holy Spirit bring your attention to every little thing!

You are light and you are so loved.

May His light shine on you, through you and in everything you do. Do not stay hidden. Let Him be glorified.

Chebet Edith

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