Ahhhhh November...fall leaves blowing about the road, Winter whispering of it's slow return, turkeys, football, blustering winds and gorgeous colors. I love November; it's easily one of my most favorite months, that is, if somebody could have a favorite month. Despite my list depicting November, I left one thing out of it: thankfulness. November is the month of thankfulness. Seeing as Thanksgiving is during late November, some genius person decided to make the entire month about being thankful. Hence, November is now the month of thankfulness. I like this idea a lot - an entire month dedicated to being thankful about things; talk about brilliant! While we can probably all agree that we like the "thankful month" and like talking about what we're grateful for, how come we are so positively un-thankful?
I love looking on Facebook and seeing everybody posting what they're thankful for on each day of November. I think it's a really sweet idea and it helps people realize all the great things they have in life. Except, when it comes to the rest of the year, how come things that we're thankful for are never talked about? Not only that, but how come (during the rest of the year and even during November) almost 100% of our time isn't spent rejoicing and being glad for what we have, but whining and complaining about what we don't have?
For example, I am thankful for getting to scoop dog poop. Now, don't take this the wrong way and think I'm thankful for dog poop...no, that's not what I mean! I'm thankful for getting to scoop dog poop because it means that I have the dog I truly love. Or, I'm thankful for slow drivers. Not because they're plain slow (because let me tell you, I can be super impatient sometimes!), but because they remind me to slow down and take a breather. Or another great example, I'm thankful for chewed shoes; not because they were chewed, but because I had a sweet Bernese to chew them. Things that seem like they should be complained about, can actually be rejoiced about!
Now take a look at your life. You say: "My husband never does this or that and he's just not contributing to our relationship" or vice versa. Or maybe you say: "I just don't feel like going to work today...I hate my job". Or perhaps (and here's a common one): "I hate school". Or even, "My kids just never listen to me". Those are all classic "whines" that we, as people, use on a regular basis. Now, I'm not going to deny that I never say these things, because I can assure you, I'm just as sinful as the next gal. Those are some of my favorite whines! But, they're wrong to whine about. You complain about your husband and after ten, fifteen years of marriage and you want a divorce because you have spent too much time being un-thankful for what you have. Maybe it's time to think about how nice it is that you even have a spouse to help you raise your kids and provide for you. Did you know that throughout the world, hundreds of children are being raised by single, poor mothers that would love to have a husband to help them? Crazy to think that you may be kicking your husband out, when another woman is desperately trying to get a husband. Same things go for husbands that think their wives aren't contributing. Or you say you hate your job, but hundreds upon thousands of people don't have jobs and can't provide for themselves or the ones they love. Who are we (me included) to complain about work when others don't even get the opportunity to fill out a job application? And then we sit and complain about school, but at least we get to go to school. If you go onto World Vision and search through the children to support, nearly every one will say that the child is currently not in school. Why? Because they don't get that opportunity like we do. And we complain and complain and complain about how our kids aren't listening to us when perhaps just across the street from you a woman just found out she will never be able to have children of her own. Since when did we become so selfishly ungrateful? What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday? Then what would life look like for you?
God didn't die on the cross so we could whine and complain and be un-thankful. Nope, definitely not! We have so many opportunities here on Earth, yet we decide to spend tons and tons of time complaining about the things we have. Paul was thankful for a jail cell and suffering...but we can't even be thankful for a comfy bed and a roof over our heads. Little children in Africa are thankful for a single pair of shoes or a deflated soccer ball, and we can't be thankful for fifty pairs of shoes or ten autographed, perfect soccer balls. God didn't create us to be whiners, but thankers! November shouldn't be the only month that we're thankful in...we should be thankful all the time, any time, about anything!
The Bible says: Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:18
That text right there commands us to be thankful in all circumstances, because this is God's will. This means that no matter what is going on, and what we want to whine about, that we should be thankful anyways. If we started counting our blessings instead of our "don't haves", don't you think we'd be a lot happier? Every time I get in a funk and start to feel depressed, my mom always sits be down and makes me say (out loud) what I'm thankful for. In a matter of minutes - sometimes seconds - both of us are smiling and laughing and I am feeling perfectly fine. So don't just post on Facebook in the month of November about what you're thankful for - shout to the heavens everyday of your life what you're thankful for.
So what are you thankful for?
