Learning Thankfulness

 

Day 12 - Learning Thankfulness

 

One of my moments of grace came yesterday as I was reading Ann Voskamp's beautiful blog.  So often when I read Ann's peaceful and lovely words, I believe that she must have a life naturally peaceful and lovely. She must have gentle, obedient, helpful children. She must naturally have the energy and the motivation to lovingly teach her children and keep her home in order. She would not fuss at her children or rush through bedtime or burn carrots because she was tired and not checking them often enough. It can be easy to think Ann is able to be so thankful because she has more to be thankful for than I do.

But when I read her post, I see a woman who doesn't have a life absent of conflict. Her children are not perfect. Her home is not always in order. Her feelings lie to her just like mine do to me. Her thankfulness isn't a result of having a better life. It's not the result of having some special connection with God that I can't have. She is thankful because she has learned to see God's hand in everything. She doesn't have more to be thankful for; she looks for reasons to be thankful in everything. 

So today I pray that I would learn to stop and see God at work in my life - in the normal, in the mundane, in the unpleasant. Because He is in all these things.