Being Thankful

As Thanksgiving approaches there are many things to think about and to be thankful for!  Even little things have spurred on a new perspective on how much I actually have to be thankful for.  There is so much evil and bad that is going on in the world... what you hear on the news, things happening to people you know... it is very easy to get sucked into the despair.  BUT I know that we serve a God that doesn't understand or know what we're going through.  That there are things that go on that He doesn't know about... and in that, we can have hope.  And in hope, there can be life.

Recently, I have been noticing a lot more people's marriages failing.  Good Christian people too... and that has been really hard for me to swallow or wrap my mind around.  I was talking with my good friend Amy, and she reminded me that we're all human and just because we are Christians doesn't make us falter...  It was a good reminder of grace, but it still confuses me.  I know just because we profess Christ to be our Savior doesn't mean (and actually probably is the opposite) that our hardships will be taken away... but as somebody who is in the midst of figuring out how to make my marriage be full of love and continue to grow in Christ I just shake my head.  Right now, I know, without a shadow of a doubt that my marriage is rock solid and pretty much you could throw anything at us and we would survive.  I KNOW we would.  And I just am thinking and wondering what changes in people's marriages.  How can one go from being like this to the opposite of walking away?  I know that people say marriage is work, and I'm beginning to see it.  Now I see that there are things that I need to consider and make sure happen in order for us to remain this way.  Simple things like always kissing each other good night, or saying I love you.  I love my husband.  He's fantastic.  And I never want my feelings to change... other than stronger :)

So the next time you're upset about something little, be it having to do dishes, waking up at o'dark thirty because your kids are up, or having to clean.... think of those who don't have dishes or food to eat, those who want to have kids or have experienced the loss of a child, or people who don't have a place to call their own.  It will make you more joyful and give your heart more perspective.

JVG