Thanksgiving Leads to Contentment

Thankfulness Leads to Contentment: The Thankful Game

Nov. 2025

Let the peace of Christ, to which you were indeed called in one body, rule in your hearts; and be thankful.

Col 3:15

Contentment. Peace. The lack of conflict within and without. Settled. Happy.

Isn’t that what we all would like to have as our norm, our everyday. Yet, when was the last time that you felt completely at peace – Content?

Eleanor H. Porter published a book in 1913 that was produced as a movie in 1920. Pollyanna quickly became a favorite and a classic movie and was reproduced in 1960 with Haley Mills playing Pollyanna.

Pollyanna was a young orphan girl who came to live with her aunt. With missionary parents, Pollyanna learned as a young child that life can throw disappointments at you. She learned to remain happy and content by playing the Thankful game. Wishing for a doll at Christmas, she found instead crutches. She laughed as she told the story of being glad that she didn’t need them! Her thankful heart led to joy rather than frustration and bitterness. Contentment is always a choice.

You, no doubt, have faced disappointments in life when you were expecting something good, and got something altogether different. Did it make you bitter or better? With son number three just a few weeks old, we moved into seminary housing. They put us in a 500 sq. ft apartment with two bedrooms. To say it was tight is an understatement. I decided that if that was what God had provided, I would make it a home. Oh, the fun we had there! With no dishwasher, bubbles in the sink became a favorite play toy for my 3 and 4 year old. The front porch got a lot of use. I remember the boys making a museum out of mud and sticks and displaying them along the shared porch. the neighbors were gracious and played along. We schooled at the table, on the floor and couch, took a lot of walks, and made memories. we were so thankful for a place to raise the boys as my husband prepared for further ministry.

Thankfulness and contentment are a choice. There was a woman I was mentoring who called crying. Okay, she was really throwing a major hissy fit! Her retirement only allowed her to live in a very small apartment in a not so great part of town, and she was mad. I encouraged her to be thankful for a dry place to sleep with a working kitchen and bathroom. (We Americans are rather spoiled and believe it is our right to have these basic pleasures.) I tired to get her to decorate what she had, reach out to her neighbors in love and respect and make her corner of the world shine brighter. She chose to stay angry. Contentment is a choice.

Sometimes thankfulness comes on the heels of having had to do without. After a hurricane hit our house in Virginia, one of the huge old oak trees fell over. I would have enjoyed its shade, the birds that would build their nests in its outstretched branches. I might have been able to attach a swing for the boys in its stout limbs. Instead, it crashed to the ground. Where it had stood soon became a perfect place for a flower garden with nutritious dirt waiting to be used. I was very thankful for the colors of spring that graced my yard.

Try playing the thankful game next time life throws you a lemon. Instead of letting it sour you, make lemonade with a heart of gratitude. Our God is good. He allows tough things to come into our lives, but He also promises that all those things will be for our good. We might not see the good in the moment, but with an eye towards the eternal and a deep faith in our amazing God, you can seek for the good and be thankful in all circumstances.

When we choose to be thankful, peace, contentment, even joy can be practiced in the darkest prison, when the worst pain confronts us, or when life just doesn’t turn out like we expected.

Having lived in pain since birth and having had 7 spinal surgeries, I have learned to be thankful for every step. This past year, we isolated muscles that I never used, got them working, and for the first time in 60 years, my days are mostly pain free! My legs no longer hurt all the time! I am so blessed!

As you plan for next year, Practical Proverbs for the Younger and Older Student have lessons about contentment and our responses to hard things that happen. They provide excellent opportunities for discussions on tough subjects with some fun thrown in!