Ephesians 5:20 giving
thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
Oh, what wishy-washy people we are. Yesterday I wrote about
struggling with anger and today I was moved to write on showing thankfulness.
Does that mean that my anger is abated and I no longer struggle? No. There will
always be issues that irk us and rouse the bear of anger within. All the while,
the things I have to be thankful for are still in my life and I can express
that as well. For instance, physical pain is a part of my daily life and some
days/nights are worse than others. Yesterday was a ‘not so good’ day. Yet, as I
lay in bed awaiting sleep and trying to ignore the areas that hurt, I felt my
little pup, Nikos snuggle up next to me. The warmth of him was comforting and
stroking his silky fur relaxed me. I felt a smile replace the pursed lips of
discomfort and I was thanking God for my puppy, the comfort He brought me
through that little bundle of fur and for His mercy and forgiveness. I must
have fallen into a peaceful sleep quickly for that is the last I remember.
I don’t know about you but I would much rather go to sleep
giving thanks than counting my cares or cursing people and/or pain.
Being thankful doesn’t mean you are pretending the
unpleasant things in life do not exist, it means you recognize the source of
all for which to be thankful is your God of provision and acknowledging Him
with praise in spite of circumstantial issues. Yesterday, my granddaughter,
Elizabeth, was home and able to go for my morning walk with me. Shortly into
our trip around the park, she asked if my knees had stopped hurting. I told her
no, they were still painful. She then asked why I was going for a walk when
they still hurt. I told her life goes on even in the midst of pain and I would
have missed all the beauty of the park, the playful squirrels, the fresh air
and quality time walking with her if I let myself focus only on the pain. I
have too much to be thankful for to waste time on that.
We have choices, you know. We can choose that on which our
thoughts dwell. I tend not to bother with ‘why me?’ or ‘what did I do to
deserve this?’ and view them as a waste of time. In the big picture does it
really matter anyway? I have a dear friend that shares my need to discover what
lesson the Lord may be showing us through almost every situation and
circumstance. We put our heads and prayers together to see where He takes it.
Sometimes the storms of life last longer than others and it takes a while to
get past the dark cloud to look for the silver lining but there is always a
promise of God shining through like the rainbow and a positive to take away from
every situation. We just have to choose to watch for them rather than pouting
through the rain.
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