a thought about gratitude

Ellie Plumptre encourages us to take time to thank God throughout the busyness and chaos of the day

Someone once told me that when you’re struggling with the thought of going into work, to imagine the day ahead of you as being exactly how you might choose to curate it. To walk your mind through every eventuality with good outcomes. It’s busy, but my colleagues are kind and helpful. The wait times are long, but the patients are understanding and non-complaining. This mindset tweak allowed me to start my day with slightly less fear, ‘For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline’. (2 Timothy 1:7)

Like all the disciplines, gratitude takes practice. Pushing aside the anxiety of everyday life, to instead notice the joy and goodness around us is difficult and does not come naturally to most of us. This is demonstrated beautifully in the film About Time. The premise of the film is that the main character is able to go back in time and relive certain moments of his life, if he chooses. After trying a few things out he decides to live every day twice. The first time, he goes through the motions, taking on the stressors of work and family life. Then he goes back in time and relives the same day, but this time with the knowledge that nothing went majorly wrong. This allows him to walk more slowly, to have intentional conversations, and to be continuously grateful for the life he gets to live.

In small moments throughout our working day, we too can try and notice the things around us that make life beautiful. If we approach the Lord with our worries, can that help us then, instead, open our eyes to the beauty that we may have been previously missing? To ‘give thanks in all circumstances’. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) If we live in constant conversation with God throughout the day, does that allow us to recognise the privilege that we have already received in being able to live in relationship with him? If we can master the discipline of gratitude, our lives will certainly be richer for it.

The film’s final line concludes: ‘The truth is I now don’t travel back at all, not even for the day. I just try to live every day as if I’ve deliberately come back to this one day, to enjoy it, as if it was the full final day of my extraordinary, ordinary life.’

Ellie Plumptre is a midwife from Bristol.