Practicing Gratitude in the Midst of Uncertainty
For over a year, Wesley and I have taken almost daily walks by the river. Being next to the trails is one of the many blessings of where we live. The simple beauty of the grasslands and wildflowers that grow on the riverbank reminds me that we don’t have to be showy to be admired.
But these days, the grass is withering away with the scorching summer heat. Its green color has turned to pale yellows and browns. We’ve started walking earlier in the morning to avoid the hot sun, but we still end up warm and sweaty when we get home.
Today, Wesley and I stopped at a much-loved bench that we’ve been skipping over because it lacks shade. But with the clouds overhead today, this bench welcomed us back. I unstrapped Wesley from the stroller and held his hand as he discovered sticks and small branches amongst the grass.
In our exploration of the land, we found a shell with hand-drawn flowers and the word “grateful” on it. It isn’t clear how the shell got here—perhaps it was lost, left behind, or intentionally left to the land—but finding it was almost spiritual for me. It felt like it was left for me to find.
Goodness Right Here
I’ve been asking God for clarity and direction in my job search. In my searching, I’ve wondered what’s next for me and what I’m meant to do. It’s taken a toll on my writing, as I’m feeling myself being pulled into a new season that I don’t quite have words for yet besides uncertainty.
But finding that shell with the word and flowers and the moss-colored outer shell was a clear reminder that there is still goodness right here. I can be grateful even when I’m in a place of uncertainty, transition, or doubt because I know that there are still blessings in my struggle. In my waiting and wondering, God deserves my gratitude.
Instead of focusing on what God is calling me into next, perhaps I should instead be giving him praise for what he’s already doing right here and now. Even in this place of uncertainty, I can see that God is still working. There are still reasons to be grateful, even when my heart feels anxious and unsteady.
Practicing Gratitude Amidst Uncertainty
I want to be better at practicing gratitude even when I’m in over my head. In those places of struggle, heartache, and uncertainty, I want to be someone who can still say that God is good. I want to worship and praise God for the good things he gives us, even if we don’t see the goodness in them right away.
But how can we truly practice gratitude amidst our uncertainty?
We can make a list of what we are grateful for.
Ever since I read Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts, I’ve considered making a list of gifts to show gratitude. Right now, I’m doing this by writing daily gratitudes in my prayer journal. Today’s list looks like:
Storytime at the library
Library cards
A really good smoothie
Rain incoming
The sweetest little boy
I know this list may seem silly, but it’s in those small things that we can see God moving. In the storytime at the library, I’m reminded of the blessing of community and the joy of small children. In my really good smoothie, I’m reminded of the fruits that God created and the perfect conditions in which he allowed them to grow so they could be blended into my delicious smoothie. And in the rain incoming, I’m reminded that God created and controls the weather—even the storms in my own life.
Another way to practice gratitude is to steward well what God has given us.
This looks like using our God-given gifts and talents for God’s glory. It’s living more in the present moment and current season that God has given, stewarding our material possessions well. This means we have to stop wishing away our difficult circumstances and going through the motions.
I’ll be honest, I’m so guilty of wishing away tough times. It’s not even just challenges but also times where I feel uncertain or I’m waiting for something. I just want to skip to the good part. But in my wishing away where I’m at, all I’m doing is avoiding the lessons God wants to teach me in the struggle and in the waiting. I’m also failing to steward what God has given.
We practice gratitude when we are living in the present moment, grateful that this is the moment that God has given. This doesn’t mean that our circumstances are perfect. It means that we trust God enough that he will do something amazing and full of blessings in our rough patches.
A Little Less Uncertain
After admiring the “gratitude” shell for a while, I gently set it back down in the grass. I buckled Wesley back into his stroller, telling him that we’ll play here again soon. As I walked away from the shell and the bench, I prayed that the shell would bless the next person who picked it up in the way that it had blessed me. But most of all, I thanked God for his simple, yet profound word to me.
Even in the uncertainty, I can be grateful for what God is doing and what he will do. I can be grateful that God speaks in the simplest and most ordinary of places. And practicing gratitude is what makes uncertainty feel a little less uncertain.