be thankful

There are times I forget  and times I really don't take time to notice, but I am so blessed. God has truly been good to me. I haven't earned it nor do I deserve it, but I am blessed. Does that mean hard times haven't come? No. It does mean that God has been with me through it all. I was looking  through some old pictures and recalled times my son had surgeries,  times of loss, times of rejoicing, my kids being baptized and playing in the snow. As I looked at pictures of loved ones lost and all the fun times, I could think about how God's goodness has carried me through every moment.  My husband and I will be celebrating our twenty fifth anniversary next month. That is twenty five years of learning to trust God, praying for one another, and learning how to love each other the way God loves. It's years of failures and victories. It is the ups and downs, good and bad. It has times when I held him up and times he held me. I am so thankful for a husband that seeks God and turns to God to become an even better man. I am thankful for my two children who are blessings. I am so proud of them and who they are. I rejoice as they are growing and learning how to serve God and others. Have they always been perfect angels? No, of course not. But they are wonderful. I am thankful for my life and health. I am thankful for my job and yes, even my bills. I am thankful for my church and my family. I have so much to be thankful for.

Why am I saying all this?  Because I can so easily focus on what has gone wrong and all the stresses. I can get so caught up in worry over many things, most of which I cannot control. I can fret and worry over finances, health,  my kids, the future, etc. When I do this, my eyes and my heart lose focus on  the goodness of God.  I begin to lose the joy and peace. I begin to feel the fear and depression. I begin to fail and question more. My faith wanes and I begin to complain. It slowly gets ugly. This is exactly what God does not have in mind for us.

He has not given us a spirit of fear. (2 Timothy 1:7)He does not want us to stress and worry. He says we can cast all our cares on Him he cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7)  He is able to give us all we need and provides for us in ways we can never even imagine when we put all our faith and trust in Him. When we are thankful and full of praise, we are able to keep the right attitude and keep our eyes focused on God.

O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
Psalms 108:1 KJV

We can keep thankfulness as our attitude and change the way we see our circumstances.  When we are grateful, we show appreciation and actually feel more happiness and peace. We more easily recognize our blessings. We see the blessings all around us rather than focusing on the problems.  We can look to Jesus to get us through and know He has already taken care of us by giving us the greatest gift of all: salvation.

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2 KJV

As we approach Thanksgiving,  I hear so many talking about being thankful and counting blessings.  There is joy in the counting of blessings. I love the feeling in the air at Thanksgiving  as people take time to recognize the blessings and appreciate the goodness of God. We need to keep that attitude all year long, not just for a season,  but for a lifetime. Imagine how much worry we could avoid if we just stayed focused on being grateful  rather than finding reasons to complain. I am going to do my best to make thankfulness my heart's first thought rather than worry. I am going to try to stay thankful even after the special day has passed on by. Every day, I want to start with saying thank you to God for the blessings of the day.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV

Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.
Psalms 140:13 KJV

Thank you, Lord, for all Your blessings on me.