The Journey Continues: Thankful for the Unobvious

"in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NASB

For the Christmas Season running from Christmas Day to Epiphany on January 6th I added a new devotional book, Unwrapping the Gifts | The Twelve Days of Christmas by Curtis G. Almquist. These reflections for each of the 12 Days of Christmas focused on Gifts of the Spirit, as well as other attributes of a life for Christ. For the 10th day the reflection was on the Gift of Gratitude, and the first paragraph floored me:

"Gratitude transforms our own lives and makes us really present to the extraordinary gift of life. Start small. If you can hold a cup of coffee, if you can drink from that cup using the coordination of your own muscles, be thankful. When you awaken...if you can hear the alarm, be thankful that you can hear. If, when you look outside your window, whether you see the sunshine or the rain, for the very fact that you can see, be thankful." Unwrapping the Gifts | The Twelve Days of Christmas by Curtis G. Almquist, pages 75-76.

I wrote a while back about adding thankfulness to my daily prayers, but this passage took me further into that spirit of thankfulness. When I pray and I'm thankful, it's usually for the big things, like my wife's back injuries improving, having a good job with an employer of nearly 41 years, being able to sing to the Glory of God as I have in the past. But Almquist's point is that we need to be thankful in everything, and he cites those things we take for granted. Sight. Hearing. Touching and mobility. Basic needs like a roof over our heads, or food, or electricity.

It was a reminder that we need to be thankful for ALL things, and I would add all things good or bad. While I would not wish on anyone the last 12 months of physical duress my wife has been under, I have been thankful that I have been there to care for her, and I've been thankful for the little miraculous healings that she experiences. I am thankful for the house we live in that currently holds not only my wife and I, but my daughter, and my wife's sister and her family. I am thankful that my job has, for the last three years, allowed me to work from home. I am thankful for Starbucks French Roast k-cups, and the Keurig that faithfully makes my coffee every morning. I am thankful that I can see, and read, and read God's Word, and other books that edify my spiritual life and bring me deeper into my relationship with God. I am thankful for the rain we've had, and for the cool weather than allows me to break out my favorite sweaters.....I could go on.

To be thankful for all things, small and big, good and trying, is the will of God for us in Christ Jesus. Amen.