Sometimes during Thanksgiving people go around the room or table and take turns listing things they’re thankful for. I usually have a hard time, not because I can’t think of a thing to be thankful for, but because I’m not comfortable speaking in front of people in that kind of setting. Still, it can be good to publicly express things for which you’re thankful. It helps you really think about it, and it helps others see good things happening. It might even remind you or someone else that there is more to be thankful for than you thought.
Being thankful is not really about being glad that things aren’t worse. While it is good to realize things could be worse, being thankful isn’t about that. There are people with what seems like nothing who are thankful. Being thankful is realizing what you have and being glad about it.
You can be thankful for things that you don’t like, especially if they are things that you need. God has seen to it that some of the worst things that have happened to me have become wonderful points of goodness that ultimately helped me be closer to Him.
Related: What Is Thankfulness?