Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Research continues to demonstrate how gratitude is good for you; it improves your mood, creativity, relationships, and sense of wellbeing in so many ways. Being grateful for family, friends, and any material blessings is wonderful and appropriate. But each year I also try to look for new things to be grateful for. I want to experience the power of gratitude.

The more years that go by, the more I’ve become able to truly feel thankful for things that might not immediately feel good. That was an important lesson I learned in my grief journey after my husband died. I kept at it until I actually felt grateful – not that he died, but for his life, for our loving relationship, and for who he had been to me.

So here are the top three things on my gratitude list for 2024.

YOU!

I am so profoundly grateful for you!

Without you there would be no reason to write these articles, or produce podcast episodes, or maintain all the goodies on our website.

Without you writing back to me I’d have no idea what you need help with, especially when it comes to intimacy and sexuality. Your responses make it possible for me to connect in some way with people from around the country and around the world.

Those of you who have chosen to connect via one-on-one coaching bring me the joy of being a participant in the transformation God is working in you even as you walk through hard things.

And it’s only through the support from those of you who can financially invest in this ministry that we can partner with God in bringing hope and help to so many who need it. And right now, that’s our ARISE: A Place of Transformation campaign. Come invest in making it possible for lives to be restored, hearts to be mended, and freedom to be reclaimed.

If you could see and hear me right now, you would hear me saying Thank You!

How God is in Charge of My Becoming

I’ve seen this in Scripture for a while; God builds someone uniquely to fulfill a unique purpose. The ingredients He uses to do so often feel uncomfortable. He doesn’t enjoy our pain, but we cannot become capable of doing what He has called us to do without the process.

Moses became capable of leading the children of Israel during his 40 years in the dessert. And he also needed the experience he gained being trained in Pharaoh’s court.

David became king not at the moment he was anointed, but over the next 17-ish years as he ran from Saul and led a band of misfits in the wilderness who became his mighty men.

Abraham became the father of the faithful during the 25 years he waited for God to fulfill His promise of giving him a son.

Jesus’ own process of becoming, as a man, took 30 years before God guided Him into His public ministry.

Perhaps 30 years ago I specifically gave God permission to be in charge of my education – and that had nothing to do with academics. My early painful growing-up years, my medical and theological education, my loving marriage and the grief journey after my husband’s death, and wrestling with business and ministry since then have all been part of forming me into the person who is able to handle the decisions and challenges this season requires now. I’m built for this. And only God could have brought that to be.

Learning to Dance

I tried learning to dance when I got married. It turned out badly – and very comically!

But not that long ago I felt God saying, “Will you dance with Me?”

I knew what He was saying. It meant following Him, letting Him lead, with a sense of freedom, abandon, even joy. I can’t control the outcome, so why try?! That’s not unlike Abraham who “went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).

I can see now that I’ve been learning to dance with God for some time. I’ve learned to trust Him – imperfectly, but deeply. So when He invites me into a new step, or a whole new dance, I can follow. Like my awkward dance steps with my husband, my steps with God may feel less than certain. But as I become ever more sensitive to the subtle movements of how He leads me in this dance, I can relish it all with joy.

Your Gratitude

What are you grateful for this year?

Take the time to look more deeply. Who do you need to express gratitude to? How can you embrace the process of becoming? Where might God be inviting you to dance with Him?

And nurture the attitude of gratitude when it springs up in your soul.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Your Turn: I’d love to hear from you about what you’re grateful for this year. Leave a comment below.

Tweetables: why not share this post?

• My 2024 gratitude list is different this year. I’m grateful for YOU! For how God has been responsible for my becoming. And for learning to dance – with Him. What are you grateful for this year?  Tweet that.

YOU Can Help Someone’s Transformation

Something special happens when people gather in a small group in a safe space to address things that are hard, and allow Jesus to come into their stories. This happens at Transformation Place, where lives are restored, hearts are mended, and freedom is reclaimed.

Find out how you can be part of someone’s transformation today!