Being thankful is sometimes a challenge, but always a choice.
We recently had some very cold days here in Georgia. Some of our state even got blessed with copious amounts of snow. Unfortunately, in my little town, we just got a light dusting and some bitter cold, which I openly grumbled about.
This southern girl, is not a cold weather person and I found myself really longing for warmer days and an early spring. Yes, I am aware that it’s January and that winter is supposed to be cold, and that spring is a ways away, but still.
Then, out of the blue, the following week got a little warmer everyday. By the weekend, we were in the 70’s and on Saturday, I was outside all day, loving every minute of it.
It occurred to me, that a 70 degree day in January is a blessing and that I should not only give thanks for it, but take the time to enjoy it.
It also occurred to me that being thankful is really not in our nature and something we have to work at.
How often do we pray really hard for something? It could be for a job, or a promotion, or a relationship, or financial issues, or our health. How often do we get those prayers answered, but don’t live in a way that is thankful?
Yes, we may initially thank God, but do we live thankfully? We may have thanked God for that job, but do we jump out of bed every morning happy to go to work? We may have given thanks for the healing, but are we seizing every moment to live healthier and make the most of a second chance? We may have been given the ideal mate, but are we willing to pray for him/her daily? Are we loving that person in a manner that is pleasing to God?
We tend to ask for a lot. We also tend to focus on what we don’t have. But, how much have we been given? How many daily blessings are we taking for granted? There are blessings like plenty of food to eat and clean water. There are blessings like healthy children. There are blessings like a home to live in. There are just so many blessings.
For many of us, these daily comforts have become so common that we forget how blessed we are.
Before Jesus performed His miracle of feeding the 5,000, He gave thanks. He gave thanks before God provided. Perhaps we should take note.
Giving thanks is a conscious choice. Living thankfully is a conscious choice. While it can sometimes be a challenge when all seems to be going wrong, it’s a choice with beautiful consequence.
A 70 degree day in January reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂