What does it really mean to be thankful? My entire life my mom has always told me “Sabrina, be thankful for the life you have here, be thankful for the things you have because your family in Costa Rica doesn’t have them.” However so many times I would overhear her talking to her friends about how much the people in Costa Rica have because they don’t have a lot of material items, and, therefore, they have so much love and appreciation for life and each other.
So I should be thankful for the material items that I have, but if my family in Costa Rica has “so much more” because they don’t have a lot of material items then why should I be thankful for them? I never understood my mom saying any of these things to me, I would just sit there and roll my eyes at her every time she said it. But really, what does it mean to be thankful? The other morning I was reading in Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, and the topic of thankfulness came up in the daily devotion. It read:
“When you bring Me prayer requests, lay out your concerns before Me. Speak to Me candidly; pour out your heart. Then thank me for the answers that I have set into motion long before you can discern results. When your requests come to mind again, continue to thank Me for the answers that are on the way. If you keep stating your concerns to Me, you will live in a state of tension. When you thank Me for how I am answering your prayers, your mind-set becomes much more positive. Thankful prayers keep your focus on My Presence and My promises.”
How beautiful is that? Thank the Lord for things that you don’t even know that you are thankful for yet. I then began to thank the Lord for all of the pain in my life that has occurred up to this point: my parents’ divorce, a couple of relationships that didn’t work out, loss of relationships with friends and family as I began to pursue a relationship with the Lord, and most of all, death of friends and family. During my time of reflection over that pain, I realized that the Lord does not put pain into our lives for no reason, and He will redeem any and every situation because His overall purpose for us is to glorify Him.
So much good has come from so much pain, because of my parents’ divorce, my father came to know my heavenly Father, and even though the pain of that divorce is continually dragged out by my mother, I know that the Lord has a plan. Although, I have no idea what that plan is, most days it is very hard to see that He has a plan, but being thankful for that plan is what has given me hope. In past relationships that haven’t worked out, although the immediate pain of them ending and the pain throughout the weeks after, being thankful that the Lord has someone else out there that is far better is another hope.
The Lord wants us to come to Him, completely and fully. He wants us to come to Him with our concerns, our heartbreaks, and our disappointment. This Sunday at church, my pastor was preaching about how the Lord cannot form a relationship with someone who is fake, He can only form relationships with you if you are genuine and open about your pains and struggles. However, being thankful for the plan that He has set gives so much hope and shines such a beautiful light on any difficult situation that you may be going through.
I believe that taking a step back and being thankful for the things around you is something everyone should do. Being thankful for even the small things will allow you begin to appreciate life more and the people around you more. It will allow you to love others the way they are intended to be loved, with grace and understanding. Being thankful is being thankful that the Lord has you in His hands and He knows your every struggle and fear so that you are always able to turn to Him in full confidence that He is good.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever.” –Psalm 107:1
