Thankfulness

I just wanted to share something Mom read to us children this morning that was really good:

Finding the Good in the Bad
"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;" ~Ephesians 5:20

An eight-year-old, whom we'll call Amy, wrote in her diary:

To day I forgot to brush my hair and my watch almost broke. My brother goes around the house screaming and bothering me. I can't not take anymore. I almost feel like running away, but I can't because I simple have no place to go. Darin is a pain at school. Mr. O'Neil picks Vern all the time. It has been a bad day. I'm glad nothing will be rong in heaven!

We all have bad days; sometimes we have several in a row. Often our bad days are simply full of nuisances like Amy's little brother, or a driver in front of us who is going so slowly we're late for an appointment, or the grocery store running out of the one item we need for dinner. The vacuum breaks, our favorite tee shirt gets lost, our cell phone keeps dropping calls, a neighbor complains about where we put our trash can. It's pouring rain- again- and the kids are stuck in the house all day. Inconveniences and inconsiderate people can make for bad days.
But think for a moment. Is it possible that God is using that slow driver in front of you to protect you from a wreck? When you lose a valued possession, might God be teaching you contentment? When someone in your life is being difficult, could God be giving you an opportunity to pray and see what He will do? Proverbs 16:9 says, "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." Are you willing to look for the good that God intends in something that may seem bad?
Matthew Henry was a Puritan preacher in the late 1600s. Like our friend Amy, he once wrote in his diary about something bad that happened to him. One day, while walking home in London, he was robbed by a couple men who jumped him from the shadows of an alley. being robbed is hardly an everyday nuisance-- it's much more unsettling, more of a personal violation that can leave one feeling vulnerable and frightened. Reverend Henry probably felt those things, but what he wrote that night is very instructive: "Let me be thankful, first, because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed and not I who robbed. " What a great perspective on a difficult situation!
Matthew Henry chose to look for the good that was hidden in the bad. And by doing this he showed us how important it is to focus on the positive that God wants us to see in every situation in life. It's always there; we just have to choose to look for it.
When we give thanks, we are saying to God that He is good in all that He orders for our lives. We are filling our minds with the larger truth about our situation and about Him, not just feeling sorry for ourselves that bad things have happened. Thanking God is not a magic wand that makes everything perfect, but it does bring balance to our emotions to keep us from feeling only sad or lonely or unhappy.
~From Growing Together in Gratitude by Barbara Rainey

I thought this was so good! When I think of thankfulness, I often just think about all the good things that we have, or good things that have happened. But, this pointed out to me that I should be thankful for the bad things that happen, because God has an ultimate purpose for them, and He wants us to be thankful in all things. "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving! I would love to hear what you all are doing! We will probably post pictures of our Thanksgiving in a few days! May the Lord bless you!

~Amanda