Fall into Thanksgiving
You never know what you had until you lose it… It is easy to look back and see a much brighter and better picture than what we see in our present situation. It is very easy to look back at a situation and wish for it again, particularly as you face difficult times around you or into the future. I think that as humans go, we tend to have very short term memory, forgetting some of the challenges and struggles that we have gone through.
It is too easy for us to look back over our past and wish for those easier days. Days where our challenges and troubles seemed so trivial. The reality though is that in that time, what seems trivial now was what caused you much anxiety or stress. Those challenges and concerns seemed as though life would end and all would be lost if you didn't see the result you wanted at work, the sports field or if the other person that you hoped would return your affections.
As we have slammed into the season of Fall, with all the hustle and bustle as organized life takes over again, we get a wonderful reminder to stop and be thankful. You might feel that you have plenty to be thankful for, or you might find yourself on the other side of the see-saw wondering how you would be able to find any good in your life situation as it stands now. No matter where your life has you right now, finding the things to be thankful for is a huge part to begin living a balanced life.
Finding things to be thankful and grateful for changes the way we look at everything around us. Ultimately people who live in discontent, live there not because of what they have, but because of what they are desiring. You are left wanting, not because you didn't get, but because you were focused on something that you feel you deserve or are justified to receive.
Many years ago, during a Christmas day round the tree with my family, I opened a gift that left me running to the bathroom to sob and feeling out done.It was I, not the person giving the gift, that had the problem! I was expecting and hoping for a gift that I believed was deserving to be owned by myself. Notice the amount of I's! You see the person giving the gift was thinking of me while purchasing, wrapping and bringing the gift to me, but my selfish unbalanced view of what I should receive, left me very ungrateful.
Taking the time to reflect this season of fall and thanksgiving, I hope that you will see all that you have, all the good that you have around you at this present time. Don't let your past rob you of today by wishing for the trivial trials from the past, and don't let the harder times ahead scare you, for you will have the strength to endure them. Afterall, our strength is renewed by crawling under the pinions and wing of the Almighty for protection and rest! Psalm 91
Balance your life with thankfulness, it will lead to praise!
