Dericka Canada Cunningham, GBW Founder
March 21, 2022
This Week's Anchor
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your
lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as
you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
Colossians 2:6-7
If you’ve ever met a psychotherapist, you might have noticed our frequent and intentional use of the word “and” in replacement of “but” in our conversations. As therapists, we’ve come to understand the sobering reality that our complex (and sometimes contradicting) experiences and emotions often coexist in messy and complicated ways, and that “and also” is a better conjunction for illustrating these interconnected feelings. As I pondered on this week’s devotion, this resonated for me, and many of you might relate Here I am, standing at the interesting intersection of feeling moved by the ongoing grief and pain in our world, and yet being incredibly thankful for things big and small. That’s the beauty of gratitude—it isn’t this thing we have to wait on better and brighter days for. In fact, as our anchor scripture highlights, connecting with gratitude when we are in the trenches can provide us with great strength and faith needed to sustain us through our circumstances.
Our anchor scripture this week calls us to be grounded in Christ, sustained in faith, and overflowing in thankfulness (Colossians 2:6-7). To be honest, I sometimes hesitate in offering gratitude as a mechanism of hope to others, because it can feel invalidating to have someone tell you that “you should be thankful”. So, I want to talk about gratitude from a different lens. First, let’s collectively throw “shoulds” out the window. We approach this conversation with a perspective of non-judgment and compassion for the challenging life experiences each of us is wading through. Second, gratitude is not meant to rid us of difficult emotions. It is not intended to be rooted in toxic positivity or unrealistic optimism. However, in practicing gratitude, we acknowledge our challenges and the impact of our struggles while also being deeply appreciative for what we have, and more importantly what is consistently and Divinely provided to us.
From a mental health perspective, research has underscored many positive benefits of practicing gratitude—from reducing stress and depression to increasing mood. From a spiritual perspective, gratitude can help us feel anchored to something meaningful and strengthen our connection with God. Therefore, I invite us to simply consider gratitude as an open door to a closer relationship with the Holy Trinity. I realized these benefits myself during that frightful internship year—the year that, at this point, you all are very familiar with. As you all are aware, meditation became a central part of my healing and dealing that training year. One evening, I stumbled across a sleep meditation via my beloved Calm App that centered on the practice of gratitude. At the time, getting a good night’s sleep had evaded me, so I figured that meditating at night was the perfect way to help.
The meditation began with having us visualize a night on a beach (I was immediately sold because the beach is truly my happy place). The narrator then began to simply say “thank you” aloud, and the guided meditation took the listener on a journey of expressing thanks for literally every and anything possible. I was only 5 minutes in before I was lying in a puddle of tears. There I was, broken, exhausted, emotionally overwhelmed, and yet, I had so much to be thankful for. These were welcomed tears though—the kind that feels good to your soul to release. I started the meditation feeling overwhelmed with tribulation, and I ended the meditation overflowing with the presence and love of God and sincere gratitude. Looking back, I can easily see this moment was the beginning of healing for me that year. Following that night, I decided to incorporate more gratitude into my everyday life. Practicing gratitude helped me make it through the toughest moments of that year.
I want the same for each of us. So, I invite us all to consider how we can cultivate meaningful moments of gratitude. In the mental health field, we often describe wellness as being multi-dimensional, including multiple intersecting aspects of wellness: emotional, financial, social, spiritual, occupational, physical, intellectual, environmental, and my addition, cultural. I’d like to apply this framework to gratitude and generate dimensions of gratitude that we can connect with when able.
Emotional—Thank you for the ability to experience life through emotion. Thank you for every feeling, good or bad, each of which helps me understand myself, others, and my experiences better. Thank you for the growth journey that I’m on to help acknowledge, name, and understand my feelings. Thank you for the ways that I’ve healed, am healing, and continue to emotionally heal.
Financial—Thank you for teaching me how to navigate tough times financially—these meaningful lessons and skills will stay with me. Thank you for allowing my basic needs to be met, and for connecting me with resources when I need support. Thank you for the upward mobility that you provide my family across centuries and generations.
Social—Thank you for every relationship I’ve ever had with another human being--for my patient partner, a loving family, and good friends; for thoughtful co-workers and considerate neighbors; for church communities in the many cities I’ve resided; for teachers and mentors who saw the best in me; for the gift of being a mother, daughter, and sister; for moments when I felt seen by another person and felt just a little less alone; for those conversations that meant everything. Thank you for my therapist who has undoubtedly made me a better wife, mother, friend, and therapist.
Spiritual—Thank you for You--for your presence that surrounds me everywhere. Thank you for calling me into this faith community; for allowing me to be connected to a Source that is greater than me; for finding life meaning and purpose in spiritual groundedness; for guiding me and giving me direction; for the ways in which this spiritual relationship has sustained me and continuously makes it all worth it.
Occupational—Thank you for a job that helps me take care of myself and those I love. Thank you for this career that you’ve called me to, and for allowing my career, calling and passions to be aligned. Thank you for the honor of doing the work I do. Thank you for the job transitions I’ve made over the years—how each new job has helped me grow, sharpen my tools, and developed my professional identity.
Physical—Thank you for being able to breathe new life each day. Thank you for this health journey that I’m on—the good, bad, scary, and ugly. Thank you for the resources to proactively take care of my health and get help when needed. Thank you for helping me tend to my basic needs---having food to eat, clean water to drink, a place to live, and the ability to rest at night.
Intellectual—Thank you for this mind you gave me—this over-thinking, ever-running mind. Thank you for the ability to learn and grow; for being provided with an education that’s served as a foundation for where I am today. Thank you for the tough questions and hard lessons. Thank you for the gift of curiosity and intentionality.
Environmental—Thank you for this beautiful and unreal place that we get to call home. Thank you for the thoughtfulness you’ve placed in my heart to take care of it, and for the way that nature calls us into the present moment.
Cultural—Thank you for the beauty of all of who I am racially and culturally. Thank you for my journey of understanding this beauty more and more as I grow—thank you for the community I’ve found. Thank you for the strength and wisdom of my ancestors; for the opportunity for cross-generational healing. Thank you for the conviction of justice that runs through my veins and wells in my heart.
Your additional own unique dimension(s)—Thank you for everything! As always, I humbly acknowledge the unearned privileges I hold that afford me the undeserved ability to have these experiences, relationships, and things to be grateful for.
As we enter this week and this new Spring season, let us find joy and strength in holding gratefulness along with everything else. May we be moved and sustained by remembering everything we are thankful for. May our gratitude overwhelm us with the presence of God and overflow us with peace that surpasses all understanding.
Reflection
What is resonating for you about this scripture and/or this devotion?
What are you grateful for this week?
What do you need from the Holy Trinity to help you be more anchored in daily gratitude?
What intention(s) do you want to set to connect and/or reconnect with being grounded this week?
Related Scriptures to Ground You Through this Week
1 Chronicles 16:34
Psalm 95
1 Corinthians 15:57-58
2 Corinthians 4:15
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
2 Thessalonians 1:3
My Through-the-Week Reflection Guide
A Song of Inspiration
Quote of Love & Liberation
“Helped are those who are content to be themselves;
they will never lack mystery in their lives and the joys of
self-discovery will be constant.”
Alice Walker
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