It’s a challenge to think about being thankful when you’re facing difficult times. I know first-hand what it’s like to not have enough money to pay the bills, to shop with $40 for the week and have to decide between cheese and bread or eggs and bread.
I used to hate the optimistic quip “when life gives you lemons make lemonade!” It seemed too easy. Too pat. Too happy.
But now, I get it. It is reckoning with the fact we live in a broken world where lots of bad things happen. But lots of good things happen, too. When we think too much about our difficulty, we become consumed with it.
Choosing to think about the good things isn’t positive thinking. It’s coming to terms with what is true and choosing to find what is good and happy in your life – and being thankful.
Rabbi Brad Hirschfield gives us “8 Ways to Stay Thankful in Hard Times” – we’ll look at 1 each day.
1. Find What You’re Grateful For
The real uncertainty we face about our economic future can make us quite fearful and sad. Locating those things for which we can still be grateful, brings joy even in the face of those challenges without pretending they are not real.
when it hurts 
Kathy, these are encouraging words. It is difficult to be thankful when the world seems falling down upon you but we can, if we so choose, find much to be grateful for. Keep up the good work!
Susie, thank you so much for you kind words!
Kathy