Thankful + Grateful
Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. (Philippians 4:11) Paul then explains that being content is the secret to any situation (my intrepertation) and then reminds us all that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11-13)
With a holiday like Thanksgiving, there are bound to be countless conversations today about being thankful and appreciating the things that we have. There are countless traditions families hold with going around the table and discussing the things one is thankful for.
For some of us, the list of our blessings and things we are thankful for can go on and on and on. For others, this year has been hard and it is hard to find things to be thankful for. Regardless of where you land, I hope you can find encouragement in my own thoughts and rambles about this holiday.
Sometimes, I feel like I can relate to Paul the most out of all the Bible characters. Although I have never been imprisoned for being a Christian or for speaking about Jesus, I have gone through hard times. I have gone through times where every single day was a battle and survival was the only thing I could think about. In those days, it was easy to think about the things I was thankful for because it was simple. I was thankful for food. I was thankful that we had a roof over our head. I was thankful that something came through at the right moment so that we would be okay for a little bit. In my experience, it is when you are living in abundence that being thankful can be a struggle. It’s almost as if instead of being thankful for the abundence, we think about the things we still want.
When Paul talks about knowing what it is like to have little, I have been there too. It is extremely easy to be thankful when you don’t have much and everything feels like a miracle. Paul also talks about knowing what it is like to have plenty. I have been in seasons of plenty, seasons I definitely took for granted if I am being honest.
It’s interesting that when you don’t have much, it is easy to be thankful every thing. Then, when you have a lot, you’re hemming and hawing at what to be thankful for because it almost seems as though the simple things to be thankful are cop outs or the “easy” answer. It’s intersting how we forget to be thankful for the simple things when we are taking the simple things for granted.
I’m speaking to myself as I write this. This has held a lot of introspection as I write this post. Am I living a thankful life? What am I taking for granted? Well, if I am being honest, a lot.
I am taking every day for granted as I plan out each day and then sometimes mess up my schedule as if I will always have the time to make things up. I should know better than some about how short life can be. Every day is not a guarentee. The fact that I’m still here, living and breathing is a gift and it would be stupid to not think of it as one. That’s something to be thankful for.
In the past five months, life has drastically changed for me and my family. I’ve talked about a lot of it here but I haven’t talked about everything. However, as time goes on, I am more and more certain that this move was exactly what God wanted for my family. I knew for certain that this move was God’s plan from the moment it happened. Yet, I am still being bombarded with confirmation that this move is God’s will. The confirmation helps me when I struggle, because I really miss my friends and family in Vegas. The extrovert in me really struggles sometimes but I know we are where we are supposed to be. That confirmation is a gift, something to be thankful for.
For me, I want to be thankful more often than around Thanksgiving and the remaining holiday season. It seems as though the holiday season and the end of the year brings about a lot of emotions. That’s not necessarily a bad thing and reflection is good, which is a big portion of thankfulness and everything that comes with the end of the year. I’m just thinking that I would love to be thankful more often and be able to reflect and show gratitude outside of the holiday season.
While it might not be the new year yet, and while it might seem early for goals, I’m making this one now. I’m going to be more thankful more often. I’m going to reflect on situations and whatever is happening more often.
So I’m going to start making a thankful list and I’m going to add to it daily. I’m going to make it part of my bedtime routine, journaling out reflections and add to the thankful list.
As we all spend today thinking about the things we are thankful for and enjoying time with families, I hope you can enjoy contentment regardless of the season you are in. Maybe you’ll can join me on this little thankful challenge. Nobody ever looked back and though, dang it, I wish I wasn’t so thankful for the things that I have.
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash