Attitude of Gratitude by Rev.

Martha Frances
If you still had a toothbrush when you got sober, you have
something to be grateful for, the oldtimer told the
newcomer to Alcoholics Anonymous in the early days. One of
the best practices folks are encouraged to adopt when they
are learning to live sane and sober is an attitude of gratitude.
St. Paul in his guidelines for faithful living to the
Thessalonians (5:16-18a) exhorts the community to 1) rejoice
always, 2) pray without ceasing, and 3) give thanks in all
circumstances.

I was first given this scripture for meditation when preparing to serve on a team sharing Gods
love with women in a prison. I first thought, My life has been pretty hard lately; what do I
have to be grateful for? Then I wondered what women in prison would think about MY advice
to THEM to give thanks in all circumstances. What did I know of THEIR circumstances? Could I
be grateful for everything if I were in prison?
To my surprise and chagrin, when we entered the prison for the first time, we learned that we
didnt have to teach many of the women a thing about gratitude. Many of them were grateful
to wake up in the morning and to have the opportunity to share their love of God with those of
us who visited them, for they had long since learned that their ability to survive the indignities
and atrocities of the prison experience was based on their giving thanks in all circumstances.
For what do I have to be grateful? I have learned the habit of starting the day by looking out
my kitchen window at my lush patio or enjoying the dogs walk by listing those things for which
to be thankful. Even when, as has been the case recently, several close friends have died, I
work through the grief of their loss more effectively if I focus on gratitude for the gifts of
themselves they and God have given me. The tears still come, but they are redemptive tears.
And they lead me to a habitual life of gratitude, one day at a time.
Martha Frances+
Martha Frances is a retired but still active priest in the Episcopal Church whose interests include
women's spiritual growth, multicultural-ecumenical-&-interfaith issues, emergent community
experiences, & ministry sharing with those often marginalized. She serves on Brigid's Place Board & is a
Companion of the Rivendell Community. She loves music, reading, knitting, cuddling with her
dachshund Cecily, & playing with her grandchildren Amelia, Violet, & Benjamin.