This month, I have been taught to appreciate life. My Dad has had some serious back issues that have landed him in a wheelchair a few times, currently crutches and maybe (probably) in the operating room in the near future. Throughout this past month, I have seen a roller coaster of emotion in my household. Stress about his job security (he is a coal miner, and there isn’t going to be much coal mined if his back is hurt), his physical health and his ability to take care of things around the house. When you are stressed about all these things, there is pressure put on your existence. You have let the edges of your being curl up in fear, forming a reservoir of worry and negativity. But there has been one major thing that I have learned this year, and it is that we should be thankful for life.

We have found ourselves wishing we were never born, complaining about everything and thinking that if we don’t live a privileged life, we aren’t living at all. The thing is, I think that we could all use a little dose of reality: any life is better than none. We should appreciate our time on Earth and thank God for every second of it. We cannot have smiles and sunshine during all of life’s trials, but what we can do is realize that even our trials and hardships are a blessing. James 1:2-4 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” These hardships can be used to show our faith in Jesus Christ and His redeeming and satisfying love.

Through these hard times we find refinement, and through our refinement we find blessings from the Lord. Jesus died on the cross so that we can have hope in his sacrifice to see our God in heaven one day, clean of our sins. That simple truth is enough to bring purpose to every moment of our existence.

This week I have felt extremely guilty. I have asked God, “Why me?” too many times. I have used the verse Ecclesiastes 4:3, which says “But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun” in such a selfish and wrong way. This is to show us that the evil of the world is hard on us, but Jesus is light on our hearts, and He takes our burdens from our weak hands. Without Jesus, we cannot say the same, for to not know Jesus and accept his gift of grace is to spend eternity after death separated from God and live a life deprived of the satisfaction that comes from Jesus’ sweet name. To live and die without knowing IS far worse than to have never been born. Thankfully Jesus came so that all have the opportunity to know about His saving grace and the price He paid on the cross for the sins of this world.

Since God has made a way, we are to appreciate the time we have on Earth to enjoy God’s creation. Even if it's from a wheelchair, in a shack, with no money or through a life of challenge. We are here to bring glory to God through it all, and to exist for even one day on this planet is a gift from our Father in Heaven. My dear friend learned a similar lesson this year. She lost a parent to cancer, and God’s magnificent glory was proven over and over throughout the journey. No one wants to see cancer form. No one wants to go through the trials of sickness and loss. But life happens, and sin has brought this into the world we live in. Instead of complaining, we must be thankful for the life we have. My friend and her loved one were able to cherish the life God had blessed them with. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, they were able to look and see that God has given us a chance to live for Him, Glorify him, learn about Him and if we know Jesus as our Savior we can be with Him when we are done on this Earth. I learned from her that when life gives you lemons, you thank God that you can make lemonade - you don’t return it and ask for fruit punch.

Instead of asking God, “Why did you do this to my Dad?” or, “What if he loses his job?” I have tried to be thankful that I have a dad in the first place. Thankful that my Father in Heaven blessed me enough to have a dad, to exist, to allow my dad to exist, to have worked in our lives so that we both know Him as our Lord and Savior and most of all allow us to walk this celestial globe and know Him so deeply while here so that I can one day worship my Father in heaven in His wonderful presence. To live a hard and complicated life but know Jesus and be with Him when I die is better than to not exist at all.