Lately, my Facebook friends have been running a campaign of thankfulness. Every day, I see several posts that list something to be thankful for. Most of the posts include family, friends or some of the material blessings we enjoy.
So far…nobody has posted gratitude for the hard times of life.
Yet it is those difficult journeys that force us to appreciate what we really have. After seeing the devastation on the East Coast, I imagine none of us will ever take our hot showers for granted again.
When we struggle through an illness, we realize how grateful we should be for health.
When we finally get that dream job, we look back on the days of unemployment and all that God taught us about depending on Him.
It’s wonderful when we say, “God is good” every time He does something awesome for us. But when He allows us to walk through the tough times, isn’t He also good then? He works with us personally to chip away the selfishness in our hearts or to teach us the value of perseverance. He gently leads us through those valleys so that we can appreciate the mountain top experiences. And even when death breaks our hearts, God reminds us that we are eternal creatures and this isn’t the final end.
If we’re going to give thanks daily, then we need to prepare ourselves for gratitude that bubbles out of us all day and every day. To own a thankful heart, we need to consider the dark edges of our days and somehow find God as our source of light.
When we do that, when we truly thank Him for retooling us, then we learn how to give thanks in everything.
And I imagine that God hears our thanksgiving and smiles.
© 2012 GateWay of Hope Ministries