In light of this being the American week of Thanksgiving, I’ll be writing about the power of gratitude in marriage, and the encouragement it gives to relationships.
Day 1: The Gratitude Jar
Gratitude Prayer & Meditation
Sometimes gratitude in marriage is impossible to find. In these times we need more help than a blog post, counselor, or friend can give us.
Here is a prayer for couples who are struggling to find thanksgiving in their relationship. If this doesn’t fit your situation, write your own.
Humble God,
We lack gratitude for one another, and we withhold from each other
the abundance of good things you have given us.
This is not the way we remember being together, in happier times past.
How is it that we have gotten so far away from each other?
Why is it so hard for us to be open and honest?
Why is this pain we feel with each other so intense?
We’re sure someone told us this might happen, but we didn’t listen.
“Not to us!” we would say.
Our love felt different than what we saw in others. We were so grateful for each other.
It felt special, and perhaps so unique that we didn’t even need you.
As long as we had this intoxicating love, we were ok.
Now, we are without this love.
In it’s place is coldness, hurt, resentment, and fear.
We feel without each other, and without you. We need help.
Where do we go from here?
Are we able to go back to that land of special love with each other?
We are looking too hard for a way back into the Garden. To what once was, but now isn’t.
The place we did not responsibly take care of. The place we blamed each other and you.
Please give us the courage and compassion with each other to tend to this new place we find ourselves.
We need a new vision how to be together, and who it is you want us to become.
We cannot do this without your help.
Amen.
____________________________
