Thankful Thursday

At our Ladies Night Out we talked about thankfulness. I have been thinking a lot about it since. There are lots of things I am thankful for - things like my husband and children, my warm house, my extended family, my friends, food - especially chocolate, etc. I could write about how wonderful anyone of those things are, but what struck me today was that all the things I could be thankful for have a flip side.

I love my children. But they have ruined my nights for the past 4 years. They break things. They can be nasty. They rip my books, mess up my computer, steal my keys, and whine and complain. Am I really thankful for them?

I love food, at least most food. Seafood, I could do without. But the yummiest food makes me fat or is unhealthy. And some food that is good for me, isn't my favorite or does uncomfortable things to my innards. Am I thankful for all my food?

I could do the same thing with all the things I am thankful for. And it would be easy to respond with, "Well, at least you have..." That is all true, but I think points out the weakness in many of our thoughts about thankfulness. And that in turn has pointed out weaknesses in my giving thanks.

Here are some scattered thoughts:
One, I don't do it. I mean, every night I thank God for my family, the day, what He helped me accomplish, etc, but I don't make a habit of thankfulness.
Two, when being thankful is the focus, the recipient of the thankfulness is sometimes diminished. Sometimes the gift distracts from the giver.
Three, when I give my kids something, and they are delighted with it, that fills my heart with the same delight, whether or not they thank me; but being thanked for it is extra beautiful. What if God delights in us in similar ways?
Four, thankfulness flows from a relationship with God - not a relationship based on what we deserve, but based on love for each other. That lets "gifts" be a expression of love for me. And shows that bad things are not punitive or necessarily "from God."
Five, all gifts can be misused and destroyed. They can be taken for granted. They can turn into disappointments when we expect them to be something they aren't.

Of course I am thankful for my children and for food. I am thankful for them because they are gifts from God. But I am also thankful for them because God has loved me so I can love and enjoy this world in all its richness and beauty. I am thankful for them because God is love, because God gives good gifts, because God desires a relationship with me enough to die for my sins, to rise from the dead, and to fill me with himself. That gift colors every other gift in beauty, and just as he covers my sins with his love, so I can give thanks even though life and people are far from perfect.