Everything?!

"Be joyful ALWAYS; pray CONTINUALLY; give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 emphasis added)

Isn't that what everyone is talking about right now? Giving thanks? I mean, that's the point behind everything tomorrow... Thanksgiving.

You probably already know this, but I'll remind you... The first Thanksgiving was done to celebrate the harvest after a long, hard winter when the pilgrims first came to America. The winter was so hard that half of the Mayflower's passengers (45 of 102) died. Some of the local Indians, the Wampanoag Indians, befriended the pilgrims and taught them to hunt and garden, so they had a flourishing crop and full meat houses the following year. So they had a lot to be thankful for. Their lives, families, crops, and the friendship of the Indians, who they thought they should fear.

Okay, now that the history lesson is over, I'm sure you know what I'm going to say. "Give thanks." "Be thankful for everything." And yes, you might be right, but keep reading okay? I just might surprise you. (I do that a lot, don't I?)

What pops into your head when you hear "be thankful?"

I know that, for me I don't think about actually being thankful. I think about little kids and Sunday school craft projects (Remember the "hand turkeys?"). When I hear the phrase "be thankful" my brain automatically shuts down. And, if I had to guess, I would guess that there are a lot of people who are like me in that area.

Why? Why do we shut down? Why do we have such a hard time being really thankful? Why do we sometimes cringe, even at the mention of that word?

I think it is because being thankful has become so cliche. People just aren't thankful anymore. Oh, they say they are. They say all the right words, and do all the right things. They say "thanks you" when they are given a gift. Some people even write thank you cards! They're thankful, right? I say...

WRONG!

I think most people say and do these things because it's expected of them.

I'm not exempt from this.

I'm just as guilty as the next guy.

Most times I send off my thank you cards the day after something is given to me and then never think about it again. When my mom makes dinner, I'll say "thanks mom," inhale my food, and walk away, without a backward glance.

Even God!

Often I'll forget to thank Him for things, even for the big things! Like keeping me alive! That's a big job and I don't make it any easier on Him! Or how about the fact that my Grandpa is still alive? Or that I have a house to live in and food to eat? Or how about all my friends, who somehow seem to know me even better than I know myself? Who know exactly what to say when I'm upset, and who know how to laugh with me, even if my jokes are lame? What about my family? Even though they drive me up the wall sometimes, I love them dearly! I don't know what I would do without any one of them!

Or how about even the small things, like hot chocolate on a cold day, or a pool in August, and my job?

Those are all things that I take for granted every day. I don't think twice abut most of those things!

Many of them I even complain about! I don't enjoy my job. So what? At least I have one! Who cares if dinner tonight isn't my favorite meal? At least I get to eat! My grandpa may not be around much longer, but he's still here today!

Do you see my point?

God has given us so many things that we should be so thankful for! Yet, even if we say thank you, often times we don't mean it.

God said be thankful in ALL circumstances! Not some, but all! That means, if you just lost a loved on, thank Him that they no longer have to suffer. Find some way, any way to be thankful! If you just lost your job, thank Him that you get to spend time with your family. If you just found out that your husband is having an affair, thank God that you have an opportunity to trust and lean on Him for support, and you have the advantage of knowing that God loves to bind up the wounds of the afflicted and comfort the downcast. When you don't have enough money to go to the grocery store to buy food for dinner tonight, thank God that you didn't have to a carry a heavy bag of food into the house! Even in the very worst situations, find SOME way to be thankful!

That's a hard thing sometimes. Trust me, I know this! But, even Jesus, in the midst of His crucifixion, was thankful that, because of His current suffering, He would get to spend eternity with you! That's thankful!

Bing thankful doesn't mean you feel good. "Feeling good" is an emotion. Being thankful is a state of being. You don't FEEL thankful (though you can). You ARE thankful.

God said be joyful always. He didn't say "be happy always." Joy is based on the state of your heart. When you are joyful, you are able to appreciate the small things in life, like flowers in the spring, warm water for your shower, and a sword to swing in battle.

When you are joyful you are thankful!

When you are thankful, you are joyful!

The two go hand in hand! And, when you can't find anything to be thankful for or joyous about, pray.

That is the other thing God tells us to do. Pray continuously. That means all the time! When you wake up in the morning, while you are at work, when you are at home, while you are eating, when you are getting ready for bed. Tell God about everything. Pray continuously.

I've really been learning to be thankful for everything lately. God and me have been working on this a lot. I've taken that verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, and posted it up on my mirror, where I will see it every day, where it will remind me to be thankful. I've still got a LONG way to go before I can consider myself truly thankful, but I'm working on it.

I'm starting by making a list.

Every time I think of something that I should be thankful for I write it down. My list is growing quite lengthy.

So, what are you thankful for? Are you thankful? Are you just going through the motions? Give thanks? How? Find one thing you are thankful for. More will come. Eventually being thankful will become part of who you are. You will automatically look for things to be thankful for.

"Be joyful ALWAYS; pray CONTINUALLY; give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 emphasis added)