She Empowers: Maintaining a Grateful Heart in the Midst of Hard Times

In life, it’s so easy to express appreciation and gratitude when things are going well, all of our loved ones are healthy, and the journey is going smoothly. However, what about the times when it seems like our backs are against the wall, our children are sick, and it appears as if there is no end to the chaos?

Here are some tactics that can help you maintain a heart of gratefulness while dealing with moments of difficulty:

1. Mediate on Good Things

When facing hard times, we often worry about the outcome which leads to us speaking about our concerns. This actually places more focus on the issue instead of minimizing its presence in our lives. When going through a trail, be intentional about your thoughts. Cast your cares and mediate on the good things in your life—even if that’s simply focusing on the gift of life in your body. By mediating on good things, your problems will receive less of your attention and your gratitude will supersede its presence.

 

2. Be Intentional with Time

Difficult circumstances make it hard to maintain positivity and focus on the other great things in our lives. It can be easy to simply flow through your days but these are the times that intention matters. Going with the flow creates an environment that is reactive vs. proactive. Come deliberate with your time and what you choose to focus on. Spend more time reading books that address how successful people overcome and less time watching reality TV drama. Become self-aware of the thoughts you have—cast down the negative ones by replacing them with counter thoughts that create positivity. If we truly attended to personal growth and development as we should (in addition to our normal roles and responsibilities), we would have no time for condemnation and self-pity.

 

3. Volunteer

A few years ago, I volunteered at a women’s shelter in the city of Atlanta. We provided a nail spa day for the ladies and many of the women shared their stories with the volunteers. One woman shared with me that she graduated from Howard University with a Communications degree and worked at some of the most reputable household and entertainment brands. During the course of her career, she connected with a group of people who introduced her to drugs (one of those drugs was crack/cocaine). As a result, she lost her home, her job, and ultimately the life she knew. Through it all, she had such a huge heart full or gratitude. She spoke with me with tears in her eyes through the pain and a smile on her face because of her gratitude. She said that she no longer gets to pamper herself, especially with manicures so my attention toward her made her day.

 

Spending time with her and many of the women who had similar stories reminded me of grace and mercy. Through all of my situations that I was facing, it was only because of grace and mercy that I wasn’t me. I am no different from her. WE are no different. That one experience changed my perspective for the better, helping me realized that we should never take anything for granted. Even when things seem at their worst, we can always find a glimpse of hope and gratitude.

 

4. Create a Gratitude Jar

Have you heard of a gratitude jar? It’s a DIY project that can spark creativity while taking your mind off of today’s issues. Additionally, once the actual jar is designed to your liking, you write thing that you’re grateful for on little sheets of paper. Do this whenever you think of it and have the time so when you need a pick-me-up, you can reach for your jar and read the things you’re grateful for. I put dates on mine to help me remember the great things through my journey.

 

Here’s an example of a gratitude jar. You can also create a gratitude journal (these actually exist for those who are not DIY’ers) or a faith book which highlights favorite scriptures, faith testimonies, and answered prayers.

 

What are some of the things that help you maintain gratitude through difficult storms?