Gratitude When We Are Faced with Tragedy

On Wednesdays this month, I’m making a point of addressing having gratitude even when it is difficult to do so. Weeks ago I planned out what I was going to post every day in November, and today I had planned to talk about having gratitude when we are faced with tragedy. This isn’t exactly a light and easy topic to begin with, but then, just a couple of days ago, some of my dear friends were faced with tragedy. I don’t know that they’ll even read this post, but I still wondered if I should change the topic. I didn’t want to seem insensitive or trite.

But the more I thought about it, the more I knew I should keep to the plan. God knew what would be happening this week. And the truth is, there are many, many people who are facing tragedies this week and in all the weeks to come. This is a really difficult fact of life, and rarely are we prepared to face it.

The thing about gratitude–deep, deep gratitude, not in-passing thanks–is that it is rooted and cultivated even through difficult seasons. We’ve been talking about the idea that gratitude can actually be a discipline, and times of tragedy have a tendency to reveal who we truly are and what we believe, really putting this discipline to the test. I am NOT saying that we should be happy and carefree when tragedy strikes, but our core values are what hold us steady in the storms, and gratitude can be one of those values. We don’t have to be grateful FOR tragedy, but we can be grateful THROUGH tragedy.

Parents, let’s help ourselves and our children learn to be disciplined in gratitude even when it’s hard. If we have lost a loved one, yes, let’s mourn and certainly acknowledge our sadness, confusion, and/or anger, but let’s also be intentional about looking for those areas for which we can be grateful. That might be reflecting on the loved one’s life and influence, finding our own faith deepening, or even seeing some positive things come about even through the hardship. It isn’t an easy process, but it can be a really good one.

If you’re willing, I would love to hear your own stories you can share on this topic.