Gratitude is life-changing!

March 20, 2024 | Bridget Gengler

Gratitude- the quality of being thankful.

Gratitude is noticing the good around you.

Gratitude is the joy in your heart and soul.

Gratitude has filled my life abundantly in the past six years.

It all started in 2018, and when I look back, I see how much it has impacted my life.

Gratitude Circle

We sat around the circle- the gratitude circle, I called it. It was the first one I had created. Little did I know that this gratitude celebration would become a classroom tradition for me every year since. It all began with a simple quote introduced to me by a fellow educator.

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”- William Arthur Ward

As we sat exchanging homemade gifts to express our gratitude, I was overcome by immense joy and anticipation of what had just begun. I truly was unaware of how powerful this moment was for me and how it would pivot my life toward gratefulness.

At the end of the celebration, I passed out thank you cards to each child. I wrote a note on the card telling them why I thought they were unique and how thankful I was for them.

When I glanced over at one little girl, she was crying. She looked at me and said, “Mrs. G, thank you! This meant so much to me; the gratitude celebration was one of the best things that happened to me.” At that moment, I began to see the ripple effect of gratitude.

From then on, gratitude has been a constant in my life. I have learned that it is the ultimate game changer. It is not just about saying thank you but also recognizing the ultimate blessings in our lives.

After that experience with my students, I considered all I was grateful for and where my life had taken me. After some days of reflection, I realized there was much to be thankful for.

It became evident how God had truly transformed my life, and I had so much to be thankful for. I needed to express that gratitude and focus on the blessings surrounding me.

Gratitude Mission

With the busyness of life- parenting, teaching, marriage, and all the mundane things- I had forgotten to stop and notice. Notice all the goodness in my life, sometimes in the ordinary day-to-day things. It did not need to be something magnificent. It may have been the smile I received that day, the hug from my little one, the sweet note my husband left me, or the text from my sister. I realized that there was so much to be thankful for. Just as that student was overcome with emotion by some simple words that she received, it led me to think about all the people in my life and all the people who entered my life at some point and played a significant role. I then set out on a gratitude mission to thank them. I wanted them to know how impactful they were in my life. I remember the moments when their presence made an imprint on my life. So I began to write letters to each of them. Letting them know what was on my heart was essential to my well-being. Living in the present and making sure those people knew how grateful I was needed to happen.

We need to let those in our lives know how we feel. We can’t save it for their last days or their funeral. They deserve to know now.

You can read more about this gratitude mission of writing letters in the following blog post. https://twylafranz.com/letters-to-the-people-who-impacted-your-life/

This mission also set my gratitude journey in motion. My day does not turn out well when I do not take the time to start with gratitude and prayer. After I pray and read my devotionals, I turn to my gratitude journal. In my journal, I write down ten things I am grateful for: things I noticed from the previous days, people in my life, the simple things, and the more complex things that have brought me gratitude.

This practice grounds and humbles me. It helps me be aware of more than myself. It helps me look beyond my little world. It develops a positive mindset and a confident outlook on my day. It allows me to feel all the day’s goodness and makes me aware of the blessings in my life. It creates joy—a joy that I carry inside of me as I navigate my way through the day.