Can you really be thankful when the circumstances in your life are less than perfect? As I turn on the TV and watch the news, so much is happening in our world...
- Financial crisis
- Depressed home values
- Uncertain retirement savings
- Presidential election
- Wall Street "rescue"
- Accidents
- Breast cancer
- Heart disease
- Child abuse
- Collapse of the family
ns we may need to learn. We can become depressed and miss out on the opportunities we are given each day to grow.I think of my mom, who died a little over three years ago. She suffered with Addison's disease and had a pain pump implanted in her spine for severe ongoing back pain. And yet, she always managed to tell a joke as she loved to laugh and hated to focus so much on her pain and suffering.
Here is my mom on a visit to Norway goofing off with her cousins. She suffered much with pain but almost never complained and was determined to live her life, despite the challenges. As I was deciding what to write about on this Thankful Thursday, I clicked on one of the participating blogs Iris (organizer of Thankful Thursday) listed who were participating this week. I just "happened" to choose one called Lori- The Simple Life at Home. Well, little did I know that she lives in Qatar and is dealing with issues like getting stuck in sand dunes, a home that is less than ideal, loneliness, and lack of home school support. And yet...she writes that she's thankful that through it all she's learning contentment and to trust and rely on God.
Wow; so I guess I answered my own question? Can you be thankful when the circumstances in your life are less than perfect?
YES YOU CAN...if you choose to look for the blessings only God can give and how He often uses people
- to offer words of encouragement
- a needed hug
- a beautiful sunset
- a rainbow in the sky
I want to make the choice to look for the blessings and also to learn the lessons through the challenges in my life... and to choose to be thankful not only on Thurday, but everyday.
How about you?
What a fun Thankful Thursday post! Your mom sounds like she was a wonderful woman and smart too! Blessings to you(:
ReplyDeleteThis was a really nice thankful post.
ReplyDeleteyes, we can be thankful. good post.
ReplyDeleteHey Debbie,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post today. I'm sure your miss your mom, she sounded like one very SPECIAL woman!!
Yes, we do have so much to be grateful for.
Hope you're having a great day!
What a lovely TT post. Thank you for your kind words. Blessings to you today!
ReplyDeleteWell, God certainly used you to encourage me on the Thankful Thursday! God bless you.
ReplyDeleteAmen, enjoyed reading this!! Yes you can be thankful no matter what is going on around you.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I love Lori's blog and how she is being thankful through all kinds of challenges (that would likely drive me over the brink). Blessings to you.
ReplyDeleteCatherine
My morning pity party is over. I'm thankful for all the wonderful comments added today. Thank you for taking the time and God bless you.
ReplyDeleteGosh, Debbie, I'm so glad that I could be of a small amount of encouragement to you. I'm just laughing because, girl, that's just minor stuff that happened this week!! LOL!!
ReplyDeleteBut your mom sounds like she was an amazing woman and from reading through your blog, I can see that she passed it on.
And hey, I'm an Arizona girl myself!! We'll be heading to Tucson in early November for some much needed "Americanization!" I'm really looking forward to the cooler weather. Like you, we are still way up there in temps even though it's fall. Although I'm so excited that it's not supposed to break 100. Whoo hoo!!
Thanks for linking to me and I look forward to getting to know you better!
I'm thankful to be reminded to be thankful. Too often people are brought to thankfulness by trouble in their lives. I want to be thankful even in the most normal times in my life. I like reading this blog because it gently reminds me to do just that.
ReplyDeleteI love connecting with people all over the world. Reminding people to be thankful helps me to remember that for myself. l-jay, I hope you keep coming back and Lori in the middle east, thank you for inspiring today's post.
ReplyDeleteDebbie, Thanks for dropping by my "front porch" for Thankful Thursday. I'll be praying for your sweet aunt. God bless her & you.
ReplyDeleteThis is good! Love this post Debbie.
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