Thankfulness isn't something that comes easily to the human heart. It is difficult to seek out what we can be thankful for in a situation when you're in the middle of it. Yet, God wants us to be thankful "always". Not just for a season or when things are going well. No, we are to give thanks in the middle of pain, in the trauma, in the exhaustion. He calls us to give thanks during the strife, the frustration, the tears and the loss. He calls us to thanksgiving... no matter what.
This year has been a year of painful lessons God is taking me through in succession. They haven't been fun. They haven't been pleasant. Many of the situations left me hurt and angry and opened the door for the roots of bitterness and resentment to grow. God had to grab me and shake me a bit to embrace the truth that I so often quote to others but wasn't applying to my life. "God is in control". That very saying that I so often reminded others of, I myself was not living out. It didn't feel as though God were in control. In fact, it felt out of control.
So, on this day, I am thankful. Thankful for the lessons. Whispers of thanks fall from my lips and heart as God revealed truth and gave love so freely to me. Tears of gratitude well up when I think of that day. To have encountered God in a tangible way, asking me to give Him the hurt and frustration. Asking me to rest and let go. My heart sings with thankfulness when I remember that day He freed me from my own prison. He rescued me from myself. He showed me that it is not about others' actions but about my own heart. He unchained my shackles of anger and frustration and hurt and led me down the path of peace and leaning on Him. For that, I. AM. THANKFUL.
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