(Photo by Selma Komisky)

Editor’s Note: November, 2020

By Sarah Komisky

Ordinarily, there’s a ton of things we as people can be ungrateful for. Here are just some things we’ve muttered out loud, and if not aloud, to ourselves.

Why is it SO hot?

I’m so tired!

Seriously, traffic again?

I can’t believe it, they had to take my favorite order off the menu.

Why didn’t anyone tell me they are discontinuing ____?!

I really don’t have time for this hold, what is up with this customer service?

Ugh, I can’t wait until it’s Friday!

That’s so unfair!

It feels like we’ve been driving for FOREVER. Are we there yet?

We’re having this for dinner again?

I’m so not feeling this!

It’s OK, you don’t have to blush. If we’re honest, we’ve all been there. As 2020 is coming to a close, it would seem that we would have increased our gratitude a little, if not by much when we experienced a year of wondering if we would even have food to purchase, toilet paper to grab on a market shelf, health for another day, or a job to go on the daily amongst a myriad of personal and global losses in a pandemic. Now, let me clarify, that this doesn’t mean dismissing our feelings of anger, disappointment, frustration, sadness, and even doubt. Loss is loss. We are human and need to process. We aren’t supposed to put a manufactured smiley face and push through acting as if the world is fine and dandy. Yet, it seems we’ve let the pain, bigger losses, and let downs of 2020 blur our sight and drown out the blessings around us.

While most have written off this year as one of tragedy and misfortune, in sorrow and bitterness, we attempt to race towards “better.” But what happens when things aren’t “better,” and circumstances don’t change?

Others have blamed God for the atrocities that occurred. Some wonder if He is angry or laughing maniacally and wagging his finger in judgement for our wrong behavior. Meanwhile, many are so entrenched in pain that it’s difficult to find anything good anymore, especially with the 24/7 blaring of negative messages playing in the background of our lives. All the while, we fall further and further from gratitude. Not because we want to, we just are humanly struggling to find it.

While these feelings or thoughts aren’t wrong, they also aren’t necessarily right. In fact, I don’t believe any of the above are true particularly when it comes to God. However, we can’t say why this happened. None of it is clear cut or emphatic. But what is clear is our ability to know God is constant and good is still there when we are open to finding it.

Faulty thinking leads us to cut off our gratitude. To miss what good God is doing before our eyes. So, how can we regain a heart of gratitude and how can we cultivate it in a culture that dictates otherwise?

Well, it’s time to explore the subject.

To help do that, we at Marked Ministry are going to talk about all of the following and more! We’re going to talk about how we can still experience gratitude when our health is altered, exchange discontentment for satisfaction, discover gratitude for others, and work through real emotions that may need an adjustment as just a hint of the topics we will delve into together. We also want you to check out our gratitude playlist on our Spotify account and read our first-hand account of experiencing gratitude for new traditions from our newest MM teammate from Scotland, Stefanie.

Also, we will get expert gratitude advice from world changing author, speaker, and humanitarian, Katherine Wolf of Hope Heals, who will dive into her story on finding hope and joy through suffering. You don’t want to miss this interview on learning how to live your best life now!

Overall, we hope this issue helps restore your perspective to something positive, enables you to encounter a good God, and to experience the gifts He has given you, daily. In turn, we pray it will cause your heart to be inclined towards a posture of gratitude that goes beyond our current circumstances.