By Sherri Rothenberger

MiraclesOne 3rd Year Ministerial Student
MiraclesOne Board of Advisors Member

Many years ago during a particularly painful time in my life I was introduced to the idea of keeping a gratitude journal. The idea was simple; every night before going to bed, write down at least five things you are grateful for. Much like A Course In Miracles though, simple doesn’t always equate to easy, and I was resistant at first. For one thing I didn’t think there were five things to be grateful for. The pain felt desperate but the desire for peace was stronger, and so I started writing.

I am grateful for my bed.

I am grateful for pillows and blankets.

I am grateful for sunshine.

I am grateful for coffee.

I am grateful that today I saw a flower growing out of a piece of broken sidewalk.

If it is true that we become what we think about all day, then gratitude is a good thing to think about. I have kept a gratitude journal on and off ever since. And when my son was little, in lieu of bedtime prayers, I taught him to say what he was grateful for. It was sweet, and changed my mind about what I thought was important in the time we spent together.

As it turns out keeping a gratitude journal had an unexpected impact on my relationship with my sister. Michelle is two years younger than me, and sometimes our differences are so profound you would swear we grew up in different families. Like most siblings close in age we fought a lot growing up, and when we each got married out lives went their own way. Then at age 30 I had a baby. My sister fell in love with him and started coming to my house whenever she could, hanging out, playing with her nephew, and even running errands with us. One day I walked into my living room and found, to my horror that she was reading my gratitude journal that I’d forgotten to put away from the night before. As I walked into the room she looked up from the journal with tears running down her face and said, “You love me.” It was true I did love her, and when she left I looked back through the journal and saw the evidence, page after page of gratitude for my sister. I will always be grateful for that moment.