Giving Thanks in All Circumstances

Today, I’m thankful for a sink full of dirty dishes.

Our dishwasher died last week. It gave us  no warning. We turned it on and it sounded like it was chopping up glass. It wouldn’t drain and the dishes were a mess. I am blessed to be married to a man who can fix just about anything. His mother was a child of the Great Depression and he grew up not throwing anything away.

He took the dish washer apart. He thought he had it fixed. I ran one load and then it got worse. If we called somebody out to fix it, there would be a trip charge of a hundred bucks. It was already nine years old; so we made the decision to go dishwasher shopping over the weekend.

I love modern appliances, but I hate spending money on them. You know, kind of like getting a new roof or new tires, they cost a lot of money and you never feel like you have much to show for it.

So, for almost a week, I have been doing dishes by hand at least three times a day and I have not been very happy about it. I don’t have a dish drainer, so they are spread out all over my counter tops. I’m having to wash dish towels all of the time because they are always wet.

While I was washing dishes for what seemed like the tenth time, the other day, I was praying about my attitude. I always try to look for the silver lining in every situation, but I was struggling to find one. As I was asking God how I could possibly be thankful in this situation, I could almost hear His quiet reply.

“At least you have dishes; some people don’t. At least you have food to go on those dishes and make them dirty; there are millions of people who are hungry.  At least you have clean running water. There are many people who don’t have access to clean water period, much less hot running water.”

I was humbled as I should have been. Of course, He was right. I was whining and complaining about such a small, insignificant problem in the big scheme of things. My life is pretty good. I have been blessed with abundance, but sometimes I forget.

The Bible tells us to, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

That is sometimes a tall order. It’s easy to be thankful when everything is going well, but when it’s not; that’s another story. We all struggle with being thankful when times are tough, but God knows that. He made us and He understands. It’s okay to fail; we just need to make an effort and remember to pray. Even when we don’t know how to pray, the Holy Spirit does and joy, patience and peace are some of the fruits of those prayers.

As for me, I’m thankful for the reminder to always give thanks. I’m supposed to get a new dishwasher delivered mid-week. Until then, I’m thankful for a sink full of dirty dishes.

Have you ever had a hard time being thankful? Did prayer help? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂