I woke up at 8 a.m. today. First, this is not a common occurrence in my house. I rarely get to sleep past 7, and with school starting next week, I need to get my body back to the routine of getting everyone ready earlier. Second, my boys did not come into my room and were extremely quiet this morning, which is why my body was allowed to sleep. This NEVER happens. Ever. So, I should have felt supremely thankful...
Though I should have felt refreshed and relaxed when I woke up, I was grumpy and grumbling. I just wasn't ready to face another summer day without a plan. We did so much at the beginning/middle of summer that the end of this summer has been spent mostly at home, doing the same thing over and over. I'm pretty sure I once heard that is the definition of insanity. So, you can understand when I woke this morning, I did not have a thankful heart.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 has been rolling over in my heart the past few days. I believe it's the basis for this year of giving thanks. "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." However, the verses surrounding this verse have spoken to my heart, and encourage me in what my year will hold. Here are some of the things given as instruction in verses 12-21:
- Honor those in authority over you
- Show them appreciation and love
- Do your part
- Advise those who are lazy
- Encourage the exhausted brothers and sisters
- Help those who are weak
- Be patient
- Look for the best in each other
- Rejoice always, stay joyful
- Pray continually
- Give thanks in all things
- Don't quench the Spirit
- Don't despise/ignore/spurn prophecy
- Test everything, holding onto what is good.
These scriptures have helped my focus today, overcoming the mundane, the ordinary feeling of inadequacy and apathy. I don't want to be apathetic, especially on this first day of my yearlong challenge to give thanks each day.
I thank God for revealing himself to us in scripture. How can we know the perfect will of God in all things? Seek Him out in His word. We know that we will find Him if we seek Him, He's promised us that already. How can we find joy? In Him, In His presence, and in fulfilling the call He's placed on our individual lives.
Even in just writing this, I feel that my heart has changed from grumpiness to thankfulness. I will rejoice always, stay joyful in all things, pray continually and give thanks in all things! God is good. His faithfulness endures throughout all generations. He has loved us with an everlasting love, one that will never end.
I am choosing to spend the next two days of summer vacation doing something fun with my boys. Their next stretch of vacation time is not until Thanksgiving. I want to be thankful for this fun summer we've had, and close it with some great memory making moments with them. They are the joy of my heart, the most special loves I could have ever imagined. I want to impart to them how thankful I've been for this summer, fun days and even the mundane ones.
