Yes, they can.
For a while, I thought I was being hypocritical for feeling both at the same time—like my sadness meant I wasn’t truly grateful. But I’ve come to realize that two seemingly opposite emotions can exist together.
Simply put, gratitude looks backward, while sadness lives in the present. I can be grateful for what God has done in my life and still feel sad in this moment. I can acknowledge His faithfulness over the year while still hurting about where I am right now. These emotions belong to two different timelines.
You can be deeply thankful and still feel tired, grieving, or unsettled—and that doesn’t make your gratitude any less real.
Even Jesus modeled this. In Matthew 26:27, “He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them…”—this was said just before His suffering and crucifixion. Jesus gave thanks, and He also wept.
If gratitude and sorrow could coexist in Him, then they can coexist in us too.
Writings of Red 