Gratitude Embodied
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow yourself to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.
Let your gratitude become not just a feeling, but a daily way of seeing and responding to the world with love.
To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything.
—Thomas Merton
Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.
—Mary Oliver
Psalm 118.24
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Food for Thought
This week, perhaps more than any other week of the year, we will consider the practice of gratitude. The episodes of children’s shows that play throughout our house will ask our kids to name the things in their lives for which they are grateful. The reruns of our favorite hit series will feature their “Thanksgiving specials,” complete with lessons learned and heartfelt toasts around crowded tables. Social media will fill with photos of delicious foods and family gatherings and captions reminding us to “be thankful.” And many of us will gather with our own communities, offering moments of reflective thanksgiving before breaking bread together.
All around us, we’ll hear the invitation to pause and pay attention to the gifts in our lives.
But gratitude is meant to be more than a seasonal theme or a one-meal conversation starter. The gratitude we practice this week—naming our blessings, noticing small kindnesses, remembering what sustains us—is meant to become a steadier spiritual rhythm, practiced not only amid the holiday rush, but woven into the ordinary, everyday routines that fill the rest of our year.
The ordinary practice of gratitude can take many small forms. It might be pausing for a moment with thankfulness for another day as your feet touch the floor in the morning, breathing deeply of that first cup of coffee, noticing a neighbor’s kind gesture, or quietly giving thanks for a bit of calm amid the day’s busyness. It shows up when we express appreciation to a coworker, receive the courtesy of a held door, reach out to a friend who feels forgotten or is struggling, or simply notice the ordinary beauty around us that we often overlook.
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad!,” the scripture says. Let us rejoice and be glad not only for the food on our table, but for the hands that prepared it and the people we share it with. Not only for the kindnesses we have received, but for the ways that we can lend a hand to someone in need and for the ways that our lives are connected to one another. Not only for the blessings that come to us, but for the opportunities to bring blessing, hope, and joy into the lives of others.
Practiced consistently and honestly, gratitude becomes a door to seeing beyond ourselves. It opens our eyes to the ways God is at work in the world, even in small, often unnoticed moments. It attunes our hearts to the needs, joys, and gifts of the people around us, helping us notice when someone needs encouragement, care, or simply to be seen. Gratitude softens us, cultivates empathy, and invites us into participation in God’s ongoing work of love and restoration. In this way, the simple act of giving thanks does more than fill our hearts—it moves us to act, to bless, to share, and to become part of the life God is creating all around us.
Practicing gratitude in the ordinary moments—on a busy Tuesday morning, during the long commute, in the midst of routine tasks—trains our hearts to notice the small mercies, the unexpected kindnesses, and the steady ways God shows up in our lives and in the world.
As we gather around our tables this holiday season, let us remember that this practice—this noticing, naming, and giving thanks—should not stay there. Gratitude is meant to travel with us beyond our holiday meals into our lives shaping the way we move through our days. And as our hearts are opened in this way, gratitude does more than fill us with a feeling; it should guide how we speak to one another, how we notice needs in our community, and how we respond to the small opportunities to offer care, encouragement, or a kind word.
Gratitude embodied becomes a lens through which we see the world, a rhythm that attunes us to God’s presence, and a motivation to participate in the ongoing work of love and justice that God is doing all around us.
Keep a journal where you record one “gratitude” moment each day — something simple yet meaningful you were grateful for. Over time, this intentional act will weave gratitude into the fabric of your everyday life.
The holidays are almost upon us and maybe you are finding yourself slightly nervous. It can be hard to know how to navigate or approach all that might divide us if brought up in conversation. To help our readers navigate this season, our team created a short resource to provide you with Five Things to Remember When Setting a Welcome Table for the Holidays! We hope it will help you set a welcoming space before your guests even arrive!
For a printable version of today's reflection Click Here!
Blessing
Gracious God,
As we give special thanks for the gifts which you have bestowed on us this week, encourage us to carry that gratitude with us beyond this season.
And may that practice allow us to share more gratitude and joy with the world around us.
Amen.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Why do you think it’s sometimes easy to overlook the simple gifts in our everyday lives?
Together with a friend, name five things for which y’all are grateful.
Then, name five ways you can embody more gratitude in your day to day.
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
As you sit down for a meal or at the end of the day (or any time, really), ask your kiddo to name five things they are grateful for – big or small.
Maybe throughout the day, start saying aloud the simple things you are grateful for. Seeing you embody gratitude will make it easier for the children in your life to do so.
Start a gratitude jar! Give your kiddos a mason jar or something similar, and ask them to write one thing they’re grateful for every day when they wake up in the morning or before they go to sleep, and put it in the jar. At the end of one year, they’ll have 365 reminders of all the ways God loves and provides for them. For some added fun, let your kiddo decorate their jar!
Meet This WEek’s Writer...
The Welcome Table Team - We are “The Bunce Girls!” Originally from Lexington, North Carolina, we were raised surrounded by music, justice, and faith. We spent most of our Sunday afternoons gathered around an open table with family and friends where the food was plentiful, stories and laughter connected our hearts, and where the presence of each individual was held sacred. It’s those moments that have inspired The Welcome Table.
To hear more from TWT Team throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!