Once we start thinking about all we have to be thankful for, the flow becomes non-stop.
I recently read a post on incourageme.com, by Jennifer Schmidt, where she said she substituted the phrase, “I get to,” instead of “I have to,” in her daily activities. She suggested that the readers try the same.
I was intrigued by her suggestion and I wondered if simply replacing one word with another, could make a big difference. I have to, means I am required. It has nothing to do with what I might want. I get to, is more like a privilege or a reward.
We are living in a season where we are supposed to be thankful, so I gave it a try. For three days, whatever the task was, from cooking dinner, to scrubbing toilets, to picking up dry cleaning, I repeated the mantra, “I get to.”
My sunny outlook has been a tad gray lately, but the one word change, made all of the difference.
When I got to, instead of had to, scrub my toilets, I had to acknowledge that I’m thankful for having clean running water. A substantial amount of the world’s population doesn’t. That simple acknowledgement also led to be thankful for my home, and for the fact that we have more than one toilet, and that I had the physical ability to clean it. Not all people have arms and legs. My list of what I was thankful for just kept growing.
I was really enjoying my experiment and the subtle heart shift I could feel.
When I got to pick my son up from band practice. I had acknowledge that I’m thankful that I have a car that runs and that I can afford gas to put in it. That led me to being thankful that my son is involved in a productive after school activity that he enjoys. Most importantly, it made me acknowledge how grateful I am to have a child who is alive and healthy, even if he wasn’t particularly thankful for the ride.
When I changed my inner dialogue, my outlook wasn’t dependent in any way on how others reacted to what I was doing. Whether or not the members in my family appreciated my service or not, I was changed because my focus was changed.
The Bible tells us, “in all circumstances give thanks.” That can be a truly tall order and on some days, nearly impossible. But, there are things we can do to change how we view our lives and circumstances. When we choose to actively give thanks for all we have given, on a regular basis, not just on holidays, our view changes, not only our view of our own lives, but also our view of God.
Having a thankful heart, leaves us wide open to receiving all kinds of blessings and it allows us to bless others. Take this weekend and give the, “I get to,” challenge a shot. I think you will be impressed with what you see. You might even decide to make it permanent. I did.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂