Attitude of gratitude

This week, families around the country will gather to celebrate Thanksgiving. With the four-day observance, many travel to spend time with loved ones, often making it the most-traveled holiday of the year.
    It’s a time to celebrate, and like the name implies, to stop and give thanks for the many blessings we have enjoyed during the past year.
    It’s all too easy for our blessings to become overshadowed by the stress from the many different turns our lives take on an almost daily basis.
    Perhaps it’s a cancer diagnosis or the loss of a loved one or an accident. Perhaps it’s the crunch of low commodity prices or a blood-letting cattle market.
    Whatever the circumstances, it makes it difficult to feel thankful at the time.
    Just last week, I was watching one of my favorite golf-instructional programs. Jon Gordon, an accomplished athlete and author, appeared on the show to talk about his new book, “The Power of Positive Leadership.”
    Gordon says we’re not positive thinkers because life is easy; we’re positive people because life can be hard.
    Thanksgiving reminds us to be thankful but Gordon calls us to be thankful every day.
    He suggests there’s one way to overcome the stress and challenges of life—an attitude of gratitude.
    When you’re thankful for the here-and-now, it makes it hard to let the things that happened yesterday bring you down. Those things are already in the past and nothing can be done about that.
    Be thankful you woke up this morning. Be thankful for your family. Be thankful for your home. Be thankful for your friends. Be thankful every moment of the day. There’s always something to be thankful for. Practicing a constant attitude of gratitude makes it nearly impossible to be overburdened by the daily stresses and challenges of life.
    The power of prayer goes hand in hand with an attitude of gratitude. We can be thankful not only for the positive things in our lives, but also that we can take our troubles to the Lord through prayer.
    Just as our forefathers were thankful for making it through a harsh winter and giving thanks for a bountiful harvest, we too can celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving with our own attitude of gratitude.