Gratitude tends to come to thought when we have obvious things to be grateful for. At the joyous annual Thanksgiving services that take place in Churches of Christ, Scientist, around the world, gratitude is expressed for everything from the day-to-day good in our lives to the all-inclusive love of God and healings resulting from that love.

But appreciation for good is appropriate every day and isn’t simply a sweet sentiment. Heartfelt gratitude to God for the good in our lives is a multiplier of that good. As Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science, puts it: “Are we really grateful for the good already received? Then we shall avail ourselves of the blessings we have, and thus be fitted to receive more” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 3). We might begin with gratitude for things we have, whether that’s a widow’s mite (see Mark 12:41–44) or a king’s treasure. But what is equally needed is sincere thanks for the “things of God” (I Corinthians 2:11) that are ours—which God, Spirit, never withholds from us. Recognizing the spiritual good that we always have from God, Love, opens our hearts to the expression of the divine largess “in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). That, in turn, leads to expansive experiences of both receiving and giving that which it is a blessing to have and share.

What about times when there appears little reason to feel grateful? When sickness, insufficient resources, or rocky relationships seem to form the bulk of life’s tapestry, and we see only slender, fragile threads of goodness weaving their way through our days?