By Anna Salas (2017). Updates in italics by Chris Wilterdink (November 2024)

I’m over it! This is my sentiment more often than I would like to admit after an especially busy or challenging week. Ministry is hard. Working with parents and students is hard. Sleeping on church floors is—literally—hard.

“It is over. I’m done.” I have heard that phrase more times than I would like to admit since this article was originally published in 2017. I have seen many friends and colleagues find new ways to live out their call due to complications from pandemics, politics, affiliations and disaffiliations, and just plain old burn out over the last seven years.

Ministry can leave me feeling tapped out and empty at the end of the week. This is true both physically and spiritually. Often, I may get so busy planning events and preparing to teach that I don’t invest very much time in my own spirituality.

Yes, Anna, too many of us do. I think that some of the healthiest ministry leaders, church volunteers, and families figure out ways to invest in their own spiritual life no matter how busy or manic the world around them may become. Consistency in our own habits is among the most undervalued aspects of faith life.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-20 tells us that we should “Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for [us] in Christ Jesus. Don’t suppress the Spirit. Don’t brush off Spirit-inspired messages.” (CEB)

While I read scripture and pray, I don’t always challenge myself like I should. Before I entered ministry, I was often incorporating spiritual practices like fasting into my life but now with an infant at home and a busy ministry I can’t manage it all anymore.

But maybe this is why I get worn down so quickly. It is easy to focus all of my time and energy on the frustrations of my life and ministry that I end up feeling drained and bare.

Giving thanks to God daily helps to focus our vision and restore our joy.

The Holy Spirit is moving in the world and taking inventory of our blessings is an amazing way to pay attention to the Spirit’s movements around us. In fact, one of the best ways to take care of ourselves is to find ways to be more grateful and to continually express gratitude in our lives.

By now that infant is a thriving 8-year-old, challenging you in new ways. Rev. Dr. Paul Chilcote (who happens to be one of the leaders on the 2025 Wesley Pilgrimage in England!) shared John Henry Newman’s observation with me that “to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often” and the church (and a person for that matter) “changes in order to remain the same.” Often, we lament change. We fear change. We don’t expect change even though we know that it is inevitable.

Looking back at our own spiritual journeys, or adventures in parenting, or the ways that we have changed as we have matured…how often do we forget to thank God for who we were even as we become something new? Do we forget to practice gratitude for the people in our lives who weave moments and experiences together to help us reflect on who we are and the many roles that we play in life?

Research proves that gratitude helps to improve our mental and physical health. From better sleep and fewer aches and pains to less aggression, better relationships and more empathy, being thankful for our blessings changes us in amazing and beneficial ways. I also believe that it can be a spiritual practice. Giving thanks to God daily helps to focus our vision and restore our joy.

I don’t know about you, but I could use more joy in my life all of the time. And it doesn’t take much to start paying attention. Awesome things happen daily, even in the midst of terrible circumstances and difficult situations. We just need to see them.

So, take some time at stoplights in your car to give thanks. Keep a physical journal of amazing things that have happened during the day that you can go back and look at when you are having a tough time. Create special times of day like first thing in the morning or before bed to list some things for which you are grateful.

Being able to focus on small things that we are grateful for does not mean that we ignore the pain, or suffering, or injustices around us. We still see those things too and can work to alleviate them along with God. As the scripture which Anna shared earlier reminds us: to rejoice, to pray, and to give thanks are a natural way to connect with the Spirit. Intentionally thanking God and others for what they are doing in your life will inevitably lead to a deeper connectedness and appreciation of the chances we each have to be like Jesus for one another.

Create special times of day... to list some things for which you are grateful.

If you give yourself more time, look back at yourself one year from today and find something to give thanks for in your life that has changed. Can you do the same exercise for yourself from five years ago? Ten? More? Steal some time to be intentional with your memories and thank God for the journey of change and perfection that you have been called to. Also, find time to thank others for who they are and what they are doing to make this world a better place. Particularly consider finding time to thank those who do the “thankless” chores or jobs around your home, in your community, and in your church. Even words or the recognition that someone else is doing something difficult and calling positive attention to their efforts can brighten someone else’s day.

In this time of Thanksgiving, make a commitment to living a thankful life. Promise yourself or someone close to you that you will incorporate one intentional, ongoing practice of gratitude into your life this year. Give it a try and see how God can work on and in you!

Anna Salas is the Recreation Coordinator at Auburn Parks and Recreation in Indiana.

Chris Wilterdink is the Executive Director of Congregational Vitality & Intentional Discipleship and Director of Young People’s Ministries at Discipleship Ministries of the United Methodist Church.