So, I did the musing on Monday, but the posting had to wait till Tuesday. 😊
One of the biggest helps in my struggles against depression has always been having an attitude of gratitude. The Bible teaches us to give thanks in everything. Sometimes we don't feel like we can give thanks for everything, but we can give thanks in everything and it makes all the difference in the world.
I had often heard that an attitude of gratitude is so important, but it wasn't till I read and absorbed Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts that it truly made a consistent difference in my perspective. Why? Probably because I began to notice the small, the beautiful, the almost inconsequetial as something for which to be thankful.
I began to keep a list as she suggests of the many, many "little" blessings and gifts that God showers on us all the time. We often notice the negative, the hard, the disappointing, the disagreeable, but just kind of skim over the everyday wonders and gifts.
Her book helped to point out those many, many little things - the pleasantness of the feel of a baby's soft cheek, the smell of a newly bloomed rose, the taste of a creamy latte, the sight of sunshine on snow-loaded pines, the "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" of the little round birds at the birdfeeder - those things are gifts from God for us to enjoy. They should be noticed and focused on for a change in perspective.
When you purpose to give thanks to God for these bazillion gifts throughout the day, starting with writing out at least three every morning, it's hard to let the depression win.
Sure, it rears its ugly head over and over, but the beautiful, the wonderful, the pleasant rises up often, too, and you can choose which perspective to have.
After all, as Chuck Swindoll reminds us:
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes”
I challenge you to find a beautiful notebook, or a plain one, and begin the discipline of writing down at least three "gifts" God shows to you every day. Read over some of the old ones now and then. Give thanks for them.
It's a perspective-changer.
My other posts on 10 Steps Out of Depression are here:
10 Steps Out of Depression
Battling Depression with God's Word
10 Steps Out of Depression
Battling Depression with God's Word
I've tried this before and found I ran out of ideas after a month, do you recycle things?
ReplyDeleteI try not to recycle, but appreciating my morning coffee does appear several times. 😉I work at noticing the details, the things we take for granted which make up the many, many blessings we have...the soft feel of my kitty purring beside me, the freshness of a morning after a storm, the joy in my child's face during a field trip, a particular hue of blue in a flower, a diamond-drop of water hanging from a leaf. Focusing on what we don't usually notice or understand as something special just opens our eyes and hearts to seeing joy, beauty, gifts. I find that, like Ann Voskamp, my camera helps me see things in a different and beautiful way, too.
DeleteI've kept a gratitude journal for several years now {I don't write in it every day, but love the focused intentionality of it}and it is such a blessing to simply notice the daily details of life and give thanks for them! It really helps my perspective!
ReplyDeleteIt sure does!
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