Count Your Blessings

"...give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
I Thessalonians 5:18

Do you ever grumble or complain? Do you ever pity yourself for not having the life you dreamed you would have ? Do you ever wish for different circumstances?

I believe we all do.... but I also believe we must be careful what you wish for. Everything can change in an instant. Those things or people that may seem so displeasing to you today could be taken away suddenly.

I would wager that our attitudes (our hearts) are actually the issue and not the people or things that we are grumbling about. How can I make such a bold statement? Because I know the sinfulness of my own heart and how it discolors my world when I give way to it's deceptions.

Sometimes I play a little game when I am in a discolored state of mind. I stop and imagine the reality of life without that person. Stopping to take stock of all the little everyday ways my life is connected to theirs and how very different it would be with them. Things like laughter, the sound of a voice, a shared place or experience, just knowing they are in the world somewhere and you can call them.

This exercise may sound very self centered but it is really an attempt to change my mindframe from grumbling to gratitude in the here and now. To realize the blessings and gifts God has given me moment by moment especially in the little things.

An example might be cleaning the kitchen for the fifth time today and grumbling about the people who keep causing the mess...again! Count your blessings: you are not alone, your family is still here on this earth sharing life with you (whatever the state of cleanliness might be). Is there laughter and love in your home? Do you have food in your cupboards and a roof over your head? Be thankful you have a kitchen... Imagine losing your house to fire, you'd wish you had that dirty kitchen back.

To be thankful in the mess and irritations of life is to be aware that God's grace is in every moment of life if we would but just be willing to see it.

Help me Lord to see Your sovereign and gracious hand even in the messiness of life. Grant me the ability to be thankful in every circumstance, to be obedient to Your will. Amen.