Thank you

Generally, giving thanks doesn’t change my situation, but it will often change my attitude. And I love that. I need that, because sometimes my attitude is not what it should be.

            The other day I was struggling to set something up on my computer. I had all the instructions in front of me, but for reasons unknown, to me anyway, it just wouldn’t work. I tried one thing, then another, and I have to admit, I was getting frustrated. I had wanted to get it all done before I went shopping, but that was clearly not going to happen.

            On the way to the store I recognised my poor attitude, and decided to find some things to give thanks for. Since the computer problem was connected to my job, I figured giving thanks for things around my job was appropriate.

            “Thank you God for my job. Thank you for my students. Thank you that I enjoy my job. Thank you that I am able to connect with many of my students. Thank you for the challenge of my job. Thank you for my problem-solving skills.”

            It was a ten-minute drive, and I gave thanks for ten minutes. Then I walked through the store picking up the various items that I needed. When I got to the cashier she said to me

            “I can see that you are happy. Are you excited for the long weekend?”

            I must admit I was taken aback. I remembered feeling frustrated not too long before, and yet here someone had noticed that I was happy. I hadn’t noticed that my attitude had changed, but someone else did.

            These last few months have been difficult for my husband and myself. More for my husband than for me, because he has been struggling with migraine attack after migraine attack, often leading to him just sitting still somewhere at home, unable to complete his ministry which he loves. We have prayed and prayed for healing, with no apparent result. Others have prayed too. And we continue to pray.

            There have been a few days of reprieve here and there. We are grateful for those days, and always hope that they will last longer than they do. It is hard to suffer, and it is hard to watch someone that you love suffering. In the midst of it all I have tried to focus on giving thanks. That has helped. Not as much as I would like it to, but it has helped. To be honest, I would like it to lead to an end in the situation, but that has yet to happen.

            Am I giving thanks as a means to get God to come and heal Mike? Maybe I have sometimes, but now I am continuing to give thanks in the middle of a situation that we both struggle with, because I know that it is the right thing to do. And yes, giving thanks tends to lift my spirit. It helps to focus on the good things that we have received from the Lord. And there are so many good things. I love my home. I love my jogs in the morning, around the lake where we live. I love being close to my family. I love that I can still play tennis and pickleball. I like my job too, and having enough money to go out for a meal with my husband sometimes. I love having time to read, and to write, and to be alone with the Lord.

            I am so confident that thanksgiving is important for every Christian that I want to encourage you all to work on it too. And I can say that without knowing what you are going through. And I can say that because I have Paul on my side. Reading through his letters recently I was struck by how often he encouraged the recipients of those letters to mix thanksgiving with their prayers. These were people who were suffering for their faith, some having their properties taken, some imprisoned for their faith, and others receiving harsh treatment from the authorities. And that included Paul. Yet he insisted on giving thanks continually, and he would have lived that himself. Hence with good authority I can say that we all need to work on being more thankful to the Father who has loved us, even if we don’t have all the answers to our prayers that we would like.

            I’m going to finish now, and go spend a few minutes giving thanks.