Thankfulness in a Post-Thanksgiving Paradigm (remix)

So, this weekend has been odd.  In fact this month has been odd.  A weird mix of blessings and trials so that sometimes I am uncertain what my mood should even be at any given moment.  The last few days have been especially odd though.  Starting on Friday when I got a letter from my doctor claiming that I was "diverting" my meds.  I would like to say that I am not but there is a good chance that if you are reading this you know me well enough to know that I would not do that.  And then the next day having some awesome fellowship time with my friend Tim and then getting to celebrate Natalie Casco's life.  And then today where lots of small things seem to be going poorly way above what would be normal.  This morning it got to the point where I realized that I was becoming genuinely irritated: at the dogs, at the ice, at timing, at myself.  And then I remembered something.

I remembered the lesson I learned so long ago that I cannot control the external circumstances of life often enough but the one thing I should always be in control of is my attitude.  I should be choosing love over hate, joy over frustration and despair.  I remembered too that the thoughts and words we fill ourselves with have power.  If you make a habit of using angry words you will tend to be an angry person and your mood and your language feedback on each other.  I've known this and have been aware of this for a long time but I often forget it.  So in that moment I considered all of the blessings God has added to my life and realized that not being joyful should have been a hard struggle in this moment.  And then I went to church where Jared preached on how we keep doing idiot things over and over and the same ones each time.  Yet despite that we are loved by God.  Not a future us (those specific words keep following me around I think God is trying to get a point across) but the us that exists right now.  That alone should be enough to blind us with joy.

So I decided I would take the time to really consider all the things I have been given and acknowledge them in some way feeble as my words may be.  I am thankful for vehicles that work and work well.  I am thankful for friends who can always give me occasion for laughter.  I am thankful for my brothers and sisters in Christ who patiently (and even interestedly) listen to my problems and give me good advice.  I am thankful for medical professionals and counselors who listen and who genuinely care about their patients.  I am thankful for new friends who unreservedly accept me into their lives.  I am thankful for opportunities to serve those who are need, protect those who are vulnerable, and encourage those who are downhearted.  I am thankful for a platform to express my innermost thoughts to my friends and family on a whim.  I am thankful for all of the beauty I am surrounded by.  I am thankful for the amazing and often miraculous provision for my basic needs.  I am thankful for a gracious, loving church filled with fallible messy people who nonetheless shine in the light of Christ.  I am thankful for finally finding a place in my life where I am starting to feel whole in myself through the mercy of God.  He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.  I know I am far from complete and that the ultimate completion will be that glorious day when I stand in His presence united with all of the saints who have gone before but I am incredibly thankful for every millimeter of progress I make in the meantime.

I could keep going for while but I will allow you to be thankful for coming to the end of this post.  I suppose what I'll leave with is this:  No matter how well life may be going there are always struggles which vie for attention.  Do not give into them and allow them to steal your joy.  And no matter how horribly life is going and how broken you feel, if you are in Christ your blessings already outweigh those trials in a similar way that you are bigger than a bacteria.  Stay focused on Christ, choose joy, give thanks, and walk in humility and all else just melts away.  Yes those are some of the most challenging things to do in this life with any consistency but they are the best goals to strive for.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. –Philippians 4:8