Gratitude

Thanksgiving is tomorrow! It's the time of year when we get together with family and friends, take some time off from work, and enjoy good food and company. We try to remember to be thankful for every good thing we have in our lives.

But what about the bad things?

Are you thankful for getting cut off in traffic? For that terrible hangover you had after partying all night? For the rain that ruins your trip to Cooper's Rock? For not quite making enough money this month to pay all the bills, let alone buy that awesome thing you want so bad? For never seeming to have time to do the things you enjoy doing? Are you thankful for the pain and sadness in your heart that you don't let anyone know about?

Needless to say, life isn't always good. And sometimes it seems like there's not a lot to be thankful for, even on Thanksgiving itself. Yet we are given this admonishment:

'Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.' --1 Thessalonians 5:18

'All circumstances' seems like a lot more than taking just one day out of 365 to give thanks to God. And it seems like a lot more than even being thankful for all the good things in your life. It seems pretty plainly to mean that we should always be thankful. Always.

This shows a couple things to me: First, giving thanks is a decision, not a way of feeling. If we have to give thanks to God even when some inebriated person spits on us from a 3rd story window, it sure isn't going to flow out of the emotion we feel at that moment. It is a choice sprung from a strong will that remains in control despite a bad circumstance.

Second, giving thanks requires a deep trust in God. If we're to give thanks even when our income is an amount smaller than what we need to live on, then we're completely trusting and hoping in God to be bigger than our wallets. We give over to Him the responsibility for taking care of us, and we are happy to do so because we have faith that He knows what He is doing and can see beyond this month's paycheck.

So as you gather in your respective homelands to celebrate with loved ones, keep in mind that no matter your circumstance, and no matter what your life is like after the holiday, giving thanks to God should be a regular and willful part of your lives.