Scripture:
“Give thanks in all circumstances…”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:18
There’s this quiet pressure many of us carry —
to get life “right.”
Right choices.
Right timeline.
Right career path.
Right relationships.
Right house, right job, right kids, right responses.
It’s exhausting.
Somewhere along the way, someone handed us an invisible report card and we’ve been trying to earn not just an A, but an A+ in existence ever since.
But spiritual growth doesn’t happen by “getting life right.”
It happens by waking up to what is good right where we are.
There is goodness here.
Not someday.
Not when all the pieces fall into place.
Now.
And yes — life is full of hard things.
Grief leaves bruises.
Relationships fracture.
Plans unravel.
Our bodies don’t always cooperate.
There are moments we didn’t ask for and seasons we didn’t want.
Gratitude is not pretending those things don’t hurt.
Gratitude is not denial.
It does not ask you to swallow sadness whole.
It doesn’t force you into a fake smile or tell you to “look on the bright side.”
It’s not spiritual gaslighting.
Gratitude simply refuses to let the broken pieces be the only story.
Because they’re not.
There is also joy.
There is tenderness.
There is the kindness of a stranger.
The way your breath keeps showing up,
The way light sneaks into thoughts/spaces you thought were closed off.
There’s the text from a friend just when you needed it.
The laugh you didn’t see coming.
The peace that surprised you.
We don’t have to choose between acknowledging the pain
or acknowledging the good.
You are allowed to hold both.
To acknowledge the pain
and notice the good.
Both can be true.
Both belong.
Sometimes the good feels small — almost embarrassingly small.
That’s okay.
Start there.
A life of gratitude is built in tiny moments of noticing.
It’s not about pretending things are great.
It’s about remembering that, even here —
even now —
there is another story being written.
One where goodness hasn’t left the room.
So today, take the pressure off.
You don’t have to get everything right.
You don’t have to fix every corner of your life.
You don’t have to have a five-step plan for your future.
Just pause.
Breathe.
Notice three good things, however small.
Let that be enough for today.
Grace and Peace,
Andrea
PS:
Today I am grateful for:
- Amazing staff and leaders of West who create phenomenal worship ESPECIALLY when I am out of town!
- My family – all of them. New and old.
- My job. Despite it’s challenges, it is a precious privilege to serve West.