Gratitude #17: Share About the Highs and the Lows

Some days, it’s easy to see God’s goodness, and others it’s not. Sometimes, we can stay positive, find the good in the moment, and trust His hand is at work. There are also days, or moments throughout your day, that are hard. And that’s ok.

The passage in 1 Chronicles speaks to the God who delivers and the goodness of God. It acknowledges God and returns praise to Him. We can assume some tough things were going on if God had to deliver them. In the same way, we walk through the tough stuff and the great stuff with one common denominator. He’s in it all, and we can thank and praise Him in the middle of it.

Doing this alone, on my own, is valuable, but the true beauty comes when we begin to share our gratitude for all things with others. When we cultivate a grateful heart and communicate with people around us, we permit them to be thankful, too!

An efficient way to start this off is in your family. In your family, start it with your kids, especially if they are young. Start asking questions that magnify God at work in a way they can relate to. Begin sharing highs/lows at meals with the family, where Family dinner can become a regular practice at home to cultivate conversations about gratitude. Ask questions when your kids get in the car after school, but if you have a young adult driving themselves, it morphed into a mend of the day or dinner conversation.

Now, ask, “What was the high and low for your day?” A high is anything good, but it’s personal what you thought was good. The low is anything complicated or not fun that was a part of the day. Sharing these kept us attentive to what builds and encourages us and what weighs us down. We get to thank God for both, and they shape our prayers and our thanksgiving.

Do you pause long enough to think about the highs and lows you’re experiencing daily? Do you let one overshadow the other? It’s easy to get discouraged by the lows and miss the joys or ignore them and never deal with the frustrations or disappointments. The best option is to acknowledge and deal with the highs and lows with gratitude and a heart of surrender, willing to let God show up in both.

Grab your journal and start writing down your highs and lows. Introduce this idea to your family at meals in the car when you have a captive audience or at bedtime when you can intentionally connect. These conversations give us a glimpse into each other’s worlds and an opportunity to share and practice having a grateful heart together.