Giving Thanks In All Circumstances

Originally posted November 16, 2017 by Funeral Home Staff |

As we enter a season of thankfulness it is often easy to be grateful for our positive circumstances for a nice home, loving family and easy access to good food. For others who have experienced a loss and are approaching the holidays without a loved one for the first time or are in the midst of challenging circumstances it may be more difficult to feel gratitude. Giving thanks in all things can be a way to navigate out of negative feelings or spiraling into constantly feeling a loss or despair.

Jim Burns, president of HomeWord and executive director of HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University in California, says that depression and thankfulness are opposite emotions. In a difficult time in his life he reluctantly tried what he calls thank therapy and for three weeks wrote lists of reasons to be thankful. When you focus on positive things in your life and give thanks for them, the load seems lighter, Burns says.

Cancer Treatment Centers of America agrees that gratitude may take some time to cultivate in difficult times, but research shows it can improve both physical and mental health including better sleep and better tolerance of pain. Suggestions for beginning the practice of thankfulness include keeping a gratitude journal, writing a thank you note or just looking for even small reasons to be thankful such as a comfortable chair or sunny day.

The family and staff at Friedrich-Jones and Overman-Jones Funeral Homes in Naperville and Plainfield are thankful for the privilege of helping the family and friends of a deceased loved one navigate through what is often a most difficult time in their lives and the ability to offer grief resource tools to those in need. For more information, visit friedrichjones.com or contact Friedrich Jones Naperville at 630-355-0213 or Plainfield at 815-436-9221.