Choosing Thanksgiving When It’s Hard

Lindsey Mitzel writes about learning to look for gratitude, especially in the hard places. 

Many years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to Ann Voskamp’s book, One Thousand Gifts. One of the main themes of the book is becoming more aware of the gifts that surround us, and that we feel thankful for. Like the author, after reading it, I began a gratitude journal. This was, shockingly, in the time before smartphones, and I remember walking into a nearby bookstore, searching for the tiny moleskin journals they carried, tucked away in the corner. 

At the time, I couldn’t imagine writing down one thousand things that I felt grateful for, but surprisingly, once I started, it was as though I couldn’t stop thinking of the myriad things I’m so thankful for. Most interestingly, I began to feel thankful for moments in my day that were hard — or even discouraging.  

Finding Something to Be Glad About

In the book Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter, Pollyanna talks about a game she and her father used to play together before he died. He created it shortly after her mother passed away, and Pollyanna leaned especially into this game after becoming an orphan, and being given to a relative to raise, who didn’t especially care for her or for children. Pollyanna comments,

There is something about everything that you can be glad about, if you keep hunting long enough to find it . . .you see, when you’re hunting for glad things, you sort of forget the other kind.

In fact, just as I was preparing to write this article, my youngest, rubbing her eyes, and beginning to fuss, struggled mightily to go to sleep for her nap. I was beginning to feel quite annoyed, looking into her little face with some frustration of the plans I had made that were being upset. The sweet little face looked right back and me, smiled, and stuck her tongue out! I had said a prayer for help, and the Lord’s answer seemed to be, “Enjoy the time you have with her right now.” This isn’t easy for me, however, in the moment, and considering the subject of thankfulness, it really became quite easy. I’m so grateful for my child, and for the time I can spend with her right now.  

I was recently reading an autobiography in which the author’s son dies tragically in a car accident. The entry was hauntingly told, with particulars of the sunny, clear day described. Some months prior, something bad had happened, and the son was at home more than he otherwise would have been for some time because of it. His mother wrote about how later that time would come to have so much more meaning to her, and how grateful she was for it.

Praying to Be Awake to the Present Moment

In my daily life, it’s so hard to keep in mind the fragility of life, and how sometimes things we don’t expect will happen, and our lives will change forever. However, if we allow the Lord to create in us hearts that are awake to each present moment, when the tragic occurs, or the unexpected comes, we might look back on our lives with gratitude for the time we had, and how it was spent well, rather than with regret. 

On this day of Thanksgiving, as we gather, or sit down to eat a meal that might remind us of the early colonists, what they endured, and the gratefulness they had to be alive, let us too, remember to thank the Lord for the blessings He has lavished upon us. Let us especially be grateful for all the gifts in our lives that may not feel like gifts at all.

Just as Pollyanna had the courage to really search for good amongst very painful circumstances, may we too, endeavor to keep seeking out everything in our life we can feel thankful for — especially in those areas we least expect to find it! My husband likes to say that the trouble is with our expectations. This rings true for me as well. However, if I adjust my thoughts to expect to feel thankful, perhaps I will feel a little less disappointed, discouraged, disgruntled, or even despairing. 

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Copyright 2025 Lindsey Mitzel
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