It’s hard to believe 2024 is almost finished. I’ve heard people say that the older you get, the more time speeds up. I’m not sure whether this is true or not, but I have certainly noticed the pace of my life speeding up. Especially at the end of the year, there seems to be an event, a birthday, a farewell, an end of year celebration or Christmas party on every weekend. The past month or so has also been filled with church carols programs. It can be an exhausting time of year, this “most wonderful time of the year”.
Yet one important practice, that we shouldn’t forget in the hustle and muscle of life, is gratitude.
In my wife’s culture, church members will often gather on New Year’s Eve for an evening of prayer and thanksgiving, sharing with each other some of the things they are thankful for. I’ve been to a couple of these programs at church, but also with family at home—wherever they are, they make it an emphasis to reflect and respond with thanks and praise.
Often we’re seeking to make resolutions, to start fresh in the New Year and do something more than we’ve done before. In essence a New Year’s resolution is an effort to be better than we were before. We’re adding something to our already busy lives, reassessing and trying to climb higher, move faster, achieve more.
There is something to be gained from slowing down and allowing ourselves to feel grateful for the blessings we’ve already received.
Researchers from the University of Indiana got a group of 300 students who were seeking mental health support from counselling services into a study on gratitude. Participants were divided into three groups: one group who were tasked with writing a letter of gratitude each week for three weeks; the second group was to write down their deep thoughts and feelings about negative experiences; the final group didn’t write anything. The group who wrote the letters of gratitude experienced significantly better mental health than the other two groups. The letter writers weren’t even required to send them to those they had written to. Only 23 per cent did, but those who didn’t still experienced the positive benefits.
As we farewell 2024, some of us will celebrate Christmas, others of us will not. Many of us will seek out opportunities to spend time with family and friends. We will hopefully have a little bit of time off from our daily work and spend time unwinding and taking a deep breath before plunging into 2025.
As we do so, in that window of time before we start up again in earnest, let’s take time to look for and reflect on things to be grateful for. Maybe you’d like some questions to prompt your thinking?
What has God done for you throughout your life, to bring you to where you are today? The miracles, the consistent work, the opportunities given and the disasters averted. Thank Him for the big things.
What has God done for you in 2024 specifically? How did you start the year and where did you finish it? If you’ve suffered loss and struggle during the year, did you feel God or others close by? Search for hope and you’ll find it. For me, 2024 has been a year of being equipped, stretched and grown, and I am thankful for how God has never given up on me.
Perhaps you’ve had challenges and stress this year. Can you find a way to be thankful for the downs as well as the ups? Have you learned lessons or been stretched in a way that you can be thankful for as you look back?
What about all the everyday blessings in your life? Have a go at listing them. Family, church, friends, somewhere to live, food . . . there are things that we take for granted every day.
Finally, let me express my gratitude to you: our readers. Thank you for reading, commenting, sharing, writing letters and articles and being faithful members of your local churches. Without you, Adventist Record wouldn’t exist, so thank you from the bottom of my heart and from all the team at Record, have a happy and safe holiday and Christmas season.
