Melting Snow

Thankful Thursday: Pondering Gratitude and Gratitude Lists

Entry six of ten for "The Bard's Hall Contest" .

"Do you realize how much you should thank God for His blessings? If you should thank Him a thousand times with each breath, it would not be sufficient."
Abdu’l-Baha1

I give praise and gratitude
the the Almighty
by intoning prayers imparted
by Baha'u'llah,
The Bab,
or 'Abdu'l-Baha.

I have made a gratitude list every Thursday for several years. Most of the time I list ten blessings I have received over the past week. In the past few weeks I have cut the list down to nine things, I no idea why I cut the list down to nine, because ten was the suggestion when I originally started the Thankful Thursday list. When I think about it, giving thanks one day a week is just as inadequate as placing only nine or ten things on my gratitude list.

Morning, noon, and night
I give thanks to the All-Glorious Lord
with prayer revealed by the Holy Spirit.

Today, I am changing the way I make my Thankful Thursday list. Last week, I read an article by Kathy Roman, on BahaiTeachings.org, called " The Power of Preemptive Gratitude"2. After thinking about the article--and attempting, somewhat inadequately, to express both preemptive and regular gratitude in my own words--I have decided to make a preemptive gratitude list every Thursday. This way, when I read the gratitude prayers, revealed by the Holy Spirit to the Central Figures, I have a list to focus on. I will also make a regular gratitude list so that I have received blessing to list.

The Lord
already know my needs,
a list helps my mind focus.

As I ponder making the list, it appears selfish. All my life I have found it difficult to ask the Creator for what I need. I think it was drilled into me in childhood, that I am not supposed to ask the Lord for my needs because God already knows. However, after reading and meditating on the scriptures I realize that we (human beings) are supposed to ask because that is placing the needs into the hands of the Almighty. In addition, I realize that the prayers in my prayer book are unselfish prayer revealed through the Holy Spirit.

I make my gratitude list in "Writing in Snow"  because it usually takes me all day to make the list. This is today's list "Thankful Thursday: Gratitude List for June 14, 2018" , which may take me all day to complete.

Footnotes
1  The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 187.
2  http://bahaiteachings.org/power-preemptive-gratitude