The Iglesia Ni Cristo upholds the year-end Thanksgiving with abounding joy and offering. This is not a man-made doctrine but anchored on the what God has commanded and expected from His people - the members of the Church of Christ.
For one, for many, and for the simple and normal average people in the world, what are you thankful for?
Gratitude is often mistaken for optimism. But for many people—especially those living ordinary, middle-class lives—it is something far more deliberate. It is not born from abundance, but from endurance. It is not the product of ease, but of survival.
To be thankful no matter what is not to deny hardship. It is to look directly at life’s weight and still choose recognition over resentment.
Most days, gratitude does not arrive dramatically. It comes quietly—while waking up tired, sipping cheap coffee, commuting through traffic, or scrolling through the news with a knot in the chest. And yet, even there, something remains worth holding onto.
Below are the our top 9 items we are thankful :
1. Waking up, for one.
Not refreshed. Not inspired. Just awake. For many, that alone is a gift. Gising pa rin. Another chance to try again.
Food, even when simple.
Not feasts, not celebrations—just sustenance. Rice, eggs, leftovers reheated twice. In a world of rising prices and shrinking margins, the presence of a meal is no small mercy.
2. Work—imperfect, exhausting, underpaid (maybe?)
It drains more than it gives, yet it gives enough to keep going. Incomes may be tight, promotions uncertain, futures unclear—but provision, however modest, still arrives.
3. Family—complicated, flawed, unfinished.
There are disagreements, silences, wounds that haven’t healed. But they remain. They answer calls. They show up eventually. And that continuity, however messy, is a form of grace.
4. Health—not ideal, but functional.
Aging joints, lingering aches, mental fatigue. Still, the body moves. Still, breath continues. Nakakabangon pa. That matters.
5. Friends—the quiet kind.
The ones who don’t demand constant presence. Who understand absence. Who stay without explanation. In a culture of noise, such loyalty is rare.
6. Hardships—the ones no one asked for.
They arrive uninvited and leave scars behind. But they also shape resilience. They teach restraint. They deepen empathy. Without them, strength would remain theoretical.
7. Faith—especially when logic fails.
When answers don’t come and explanations fall short, belief becomes less about certainty and more about trust. Panalangin na lang, people say—not as defeat, but as surrender.
8. Small joys—the overlooked ones.
A breeze in December. A quiet night. A shared joke online. These moments do not solve problems, but they soften them.
9. Hope—fragile but persistent.
Even when tomorrow feels uncertain, the belief that something better may still arrive is what keeps people moving forward. Hope doesn’t promise success. It promises continuity.
This kind of gratitude does not trend. It does not perform well on social media. It lacks spectacle. But it sustains lives.
To be thankful no matter what is not to say life is good.
It is to say life is still worth engaging.
In a world that glorifies excess and dismisses endurance, quiet gratitude becomes an act of resistance. It reminds us that even in constraint, there is meaning. Even in waiting, there is dignity. Even in struggle, there is something left to acknowledge.
And perhaps that is enough.
Not abundance—but awareness. Not perfection—but presence. Not certainty—but gratitude.
Thankful No matter what.
--Othello
image courtesy of INC Executive News
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