Learning To Choose a Grateful Heart

Sitting down with Sherry Nygaard was part joy, part study. The joy was in her attitude. I know very few people with a better attitude about life than Sherry. And it rubs off on all with whom she keeps company.

The study, came in absorbing her well learned nuggets of wisdom. Women like Sherry aren’t just born with a sunny attitude, as if it were a physical trait like brown eyes or blonde hair.

So how did this relentlessly positive woman find her joy? What components of her life helped to shape her attitude? And where can we buy this positivity on sale?

Turns out, Sherry’s joy is a muscle she’s learned to keep in shape.

“We’ve moved 17 times, owned 9 homes, and lived in 5 states. That provides a lot of opportunities to learn about the importance of a good attitude. When you have to move, you have to rethink your priorities.

We get so used to our routines and our expectations of what we think we should have. It gives us security to have material things. But the stuff we have can become mundane. We can’t allow ourselves to go on auto pilot because that results in taking things for granted. And then our perspective gets jaded.

I hope I don’t ever take things for granted again. God has given me a new perspective on being grateful. I’m actually grateful for the things He has taken away, so I can miss them and rethink their value. It usually allows me to appreciate it at another level.”

Sherry and her husband have four grown children. When reflecting on the years of raising their kids, she’s grateful for the lessons she learned about work. After working part time for decades teaching music or high school yearbook, she committed to full time work for the first time when she was 48 years old. That led to other opportunities to teach full time, which she still does today.

“I see now how all my part time positions were doors God opened to help me maintain my professionalism. When the time came for me to work full time, I was prepared. I love what I do right now and can’t imagine not doing it. I get to have influence in the lives of five and six year olds and that’s such a gift. I actually want to get up early and make sure I’m ready for them.”

Sherry lights up when she talks about hard work. She recounts a time when she and her husband heard a sermon series years ago that really spoke to them.

“Bill said we needed to write those truths down somewhere in our home so that we’d be reminded to live by them. And they’ve always hung on our wall, right by the keys. It’s a simple guide and there’s room to breathe in it.”

Love God - If things aren’t right with God, nothing else works.

Family first - Even before church, before friends, before all else

Work hard - Work is a gift. God gave that to Adam before the fall and we’re working as his servants. Just living out what we believe in the work place is a powerful opportunity.

Be kind - Part of being kind is always giving a good report in every situation. God’s not absent in anything, even the crummy things. So what’s the good we can glean?

Tell the truth - Always, but with kindness.

“I was raised in a strong Christian home. But my parents’ generation wasn’t as transparent, and we wanted our kids to reflect their Savior in an authentic way.”

For Sherry, living authentically is the key, even when it’s hard or hurts. “The truth is that I have nothing apart from what God has given me. Whatever He decides to give me or not give me, I want to see it through the lens of a grateful heart.

For instance, we’re experiencing a rough patch of our lives right now and sometimes I feel like I’m wearing thin in the waiting. There’s always a reason for God’s timing and I just don’t know what it is. But I also know that the outcome of any situation isn’t based on my strength. It’s based on His purposes.

While I wait, I’ve found that trying to tell God what I need Him to do just gives me a weird feeling in my spirit. So instead, I wonder what He may be allowing right now that He’s going to use later for good?”

Like I said, Sherry’s grateful attitude is relentless. After listening to her heart, there’s no mistake that her joy is authentic and so is her God. And that’s a muscle worth flexing.