I have a friend who has kept a gratitude journal for over a decade. She faithfully writes five things she is grateful for every day. She discovered this ritual after her daughter was diagnosed with cancer. The enormity of this response to such a personal family crisis is remarkable to me. When I think about how I might respond to the news that my child has cancer, I will openly admit that a gratitude journal would not be my first or last response.

When terrible things have happened in my life, I have responded with anger, sadness, tears, numbing behaviors, and becoming hyper-focused on trivial matters. I asked my friend about how she started her gratitude journal practice. Her response, as paraphrased by me, was this: “We had so little control over anything happening to us amid treatment, setbacks, and hospitalizations that writing a gratitude journal was a way to find something to hang on to during this impossible situation.”

Finding a center of calmness during a personal storm is a great way to find some meaning and purpose in times of great stress. The pandemic times we are living through have certainly made me readjust my definition of success and living a meaningful life. As a pastor, I have learned that the essential part of the church’s work is creating community and support. I found that the part of the church our folks missed the most was fellowship, hugs, and the camaraderie of our friendships. Last week at our Ash Wednesday service, we shared a common loaf and cup for the first time in two years. (FYI, we used a lot of hand sanitizer, and everyone wore a mask.) I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes as I could call each person by name and offer the bread of life to the people of the church I serve. I needed the connection of familiarity and community more than I realized.

I have not started a gratitude journal. I think about it, but then I forget about it, so I do not think I would be very faithful to completing this ritual. I have become much more aware of the need to practice gratitude. So I try to look people in the eye and share a word of encouragement or a compliment as I live my daily life. How do you find your way through turbulent times? Share. Let’s help each other along the way.