"What are you thankful for?"

1. I'm thankful for my house.

2. I'm thankful for my family.

3. I'm thankful for my school.

I've listed all of these things before in response to that question. While all of those things are true, I have to wonder if I've ever acknowledged and been thankful for the difficult things in my life. Should I only be "thankful" when everything in my life is going smoothly? I don't think that's the way it's supposed to work. So, in this post, I'm going to try to express why I'm thankful for the things that sometimes suck in life. Let's go.

1. I'm thankful for friends who aren't afraid to tell me when I've wronged them.

No one wants to be criticized or called out when they've done something wrong. But when a friend does this to me out of love, I truly do appreciate and love that person for it.

2. I'm thankful for nights when I have to stay up until 2:30 a.m. working on homework.

You probably think I'm crazy for saying that, but let me explain. I'm thankful for those times that I'm forced to stay up late to finish assignments that I've procrastinated, BECAUSE they're a slap in the face. Those are the nights that whip me back into shape and remind me why it's important to work hard in everything that I do and to be a better steward of my time. Those nights aren't fun, but they're necessary.

3. I'm thankful for the days when nothing seems to go right, and I'm forced to depend on God for every single step I take.

Sometimes, it isn't until I hit those days when I have a speech, two meetings, two other classes and a paper to write for the next day that I realize how I am completely helpless without God's strength and provision in my life. He is the only one who can carry me through the bad days and the good ones.

4. I am thankful for the mornings when I don't get to drink my coffee.

As hard as it is for me to accept, it is okay to go a morning or two without drinking coffee. In fact, it's even okay to go A WHOLE DAY without drinking coffee. That might not be hard for you, but it's hard for me. So, sometimes I need to experience a day without coffee in order to exercise restraint and to remind myself that coffee shouldn't be what determines my happiness.

5. I'm thankful for difficult classes and professors.

If all of my classes were easy and I loved all of my professors, I don't think that I would benefit as much. I don't like when a professor is hard to follow or when I struggle with homework assignments, but I do think those things build character. They also make me appreciate my well-taught, enjoyable classes SO much more.

These are just a few things that I could think of right now, but I'm sure the list will continue to grow. I encourage you to make your own list of things that are difficult to be thankful for. Dare to have a different perspective. :)

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."