HAPPY THANKSGIVING - BE GRATEFUL

Vernon and I enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal together with the people I work with at Campus Crusade last Thursday. This is how each place setting was thoughtfully and appropriately decorated - a miniature ceramic loaf pan with a pumpkin bread recipe, candy corn and a pumpkin scented candle.
There were 50-60 of us all together (other spouses joined in like Vernon did) and the food was served buffet style. Notice we are outside! Beautiful Florida sunshine warmed us nicely. You can see the dessert end of the buffet: pumpkin and pecan pie plus turtle cheesecake. I ate only 1/2 piece of pumpkin pie.I'm writing in Atlanta where Vernon's mother, Margaret Brady lives. We plan to go to his brother's home today and return to Orlando Saturday.

I've been remembering where we were 3 years ago now, living and waiting in Gainesville, FL, for the heart transplant Vernon needed. We'd been there six months and were well-acquainted by this time with the other patients who were waiting and we had a good sense of community. We were able to gather in a conference room in the hospital and have a great meal together on Thanksgiving Day. It is a wonderful memory. Family members who weren't able to live there with the patients joined us for the day, at least, and some for the weekend. They brought home-cooked food to share. Our heart transplant social worker purchased food from Publix (turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans) that those of us in the apartments heated up and brought to the hospital in little red wagons that were borrowed from the children's floor. If I had pictures of that time on this computer, I'd share a few but I didn't think ahead.

So though we could not be with the family members we are with this Thanksgiving, we were grateful for the hospital family we had there and enjoyed the day very much. We did not know at that time how much longer we'd be waiting. It turned out to be more than 2 more months, all of December and January until Feb. 4, 2006. At least two of the patients with us 3 years ago are not alive. All the more reason for us to be grateful today for the life that Vernon has. Yesterday we both talked to Tina, the wife of Vernon's donor, Steven. And Esther, Steven's mother, talked to Vernon last week. We are blessed to know them.

Recently I've read several places the benefits of gratitude. Saying thanks is not just pious or polite. It is good for you. "It doesn't really work if you do it only once a year," says Sonja Lyubomirsky, professor of psychology at UC-Riverside. Practicing gratitude is like exercising, says Robert Emmons, professor of psychology at UC-Davis: Use it and you won't lose it, even when times are tough, as they are for many folks right now.

These two researchers are among others who have learned that:

• People with high blood pressure not only lower their blood pressure, but they feel less hostile and are more likely to quit smoking and lose weight when they practice gratitude.

• People who care for relatives with Alzheimer's disease feel less stress and depression when they keep daily gratitude journals, listing positive things in their lives.

• Those who maintain a thankful attitude through life appear to have lower risks of several disorders, including depression, phobias, bulimia and alcholism.

• Most people can lift their mood simply by writing a letter of thanks to someone. Hand-deliver the letter and the boost in happines can last weeks or months.

Practicing gratitude in these systematic ways changes people by changing brains that "are wired for negativity, for noticing gaps and omissions," Emmons says. "When you express a feeling, you amplify it. When you express anger, you get angrier; when you express gratitude, you become more grateful."

And grateful people, he says, don't focus so much on pain and problems. They are also quicker to realize they have friends, families and communities to assist them in times of need. They see how they can help others in distress, as well, he says.

To give your gratitude muscles a workout, Emmons suggests the following:

• Keep a gratitude journal, listing the gifts in your life, daily, twice weekly or weekly. Try to be specific and don't repeat the same things each time.

• Make a list of people or circumstances in your life that you take for granted and then consider what your life would be like without them.

• Write a letter of thanks to someone who made a difference in your life. Consider delivering and reading it in person.

The above information was found in a USA Today Health column written by Kim Painter Nov. 24, 2008.

If you haven't seen the Gratitude Dance on youtube.com yet, or would like to view it again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NeMC1Fl3J0

And here's the link to another video showing people around the world doing the Gratitude Dance, including happy children. It will make you feel happy just watching it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeLbrGspigg


My gratitude list begins with thanking God for the spiritual life I have because of Jesus. Ready to start your list, if you haven't already?