on gratitude and pumpkin rolls.

“rejoice always. pray without ceasing. in all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”

|| 1 thessalonians 5:16-18 ||

i’m pretty sure this verse is actually God giving us the secret to happiness.

gratitude is such a powerful tool, especially when we’re in an unexplainable funk and just want to get out. just stepping back, looking around, and naming the things we’re grateful to God for can actually make us happier. add in rejoicing and unceasing connection with God and you’re sitting pretty.

i did a deep dive on the science of gratitude and its relationship to happiness last year (because that’s the type of thing that my ner heart loves) and it was fascinating. the long and short of it is that even among different demographics and life circumstances, regularly focusing on gratitude leads to increased happiness. the hypothesis is that the recognition of the good in our lives causes us to feel pleasure and/or well-being, aka happiness.

and even without the science, i’ve experienced the beautiful impact of gratitude on my life. when my husband and i were going through a stressful time last year, we decided to start sharing short gratitude lists with each other. the only rule was that at least one item had to be something we were grateful for in the other person. it was one of the best things we’ve ever done for our marriage. it’s hard to stay crabby at a person when you’re thinking about the ways you’re grateful for them.

as we head into thanksgiving week (here in the u.s.a), we can use this as our jumping off point for focusing on gratitude, beyond the holiday season. this is a natural time to be grateful for everything God has given us, from everything we have to the gift of his very son in the form of the infant Jesus. if we cultivate a habit of gratitude in this season, maybe we can carry it with us into the seasons beyond. i’m mostly talking to myself here, but if anyone else can benefit from it, feel free to take this and run with it. what better time to focus on living this verse out than heading into Advent and preparing for Christmas?

[as a big aside, and very much not related to the bulk of this post, i made my very first pumpkin roll! i had never baked anything like this before, i’d only seen it on the great british baking show and was so intimidated. but i had a few people suggest this when i asked what pumpkin treat i should make over on instagram, and now i want to make ALL the rolls!]

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