I love the memories that pop up on Facebook every day. Even if I don’t spend time scrolling through my feed, I make sure to check my memories. Sometimes I find encouragement from my Mom, fun pictures that bring a smile to my heart and this time of year I see all the things I’ve been thankful for. In fact, as we get towards the end of November, I always found my self digging deep to find those sources of gratefulness because I’d hit all the obvious ones early in the month.
This is where the real beauty of being thankful is. It’s easy to be thankful for family, friends, a warm home, food on the table, etc. But when you have named those things in the first 10 days of gratitude month what’s left?
“Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7
Overflowing in thankfulness, I love this! It’s what brings the sparkle to being thankful. When I remember it’s not about me, it’s so much easier to be grateful. When I chose to follow Jesus, He gave me everything I need. That alone should have me overflowing with thanksgiving.
Today, as I was perusing my memories on Facebook, I found one from 2013 that said I am thankful that I can run. That particular day was a slow, painful run. I felt horrible when I was done, but I chose to be thankful anyway. Thankful that I can run, thankful for a body that is strong and thankful for a mind that is determined even when I don’t feel like running.
I took a short walk this morning, it is a cloudy, dark day with no color left anywhere. I found the world of greys to be beautiful in its own way. The trees were dancing in a sacred rhythm with the wind as the leaves swirled around my feet. The clouds were several shades of grey as they quickly moved across the sky. No, it wasn’t a typical scene of beauty like a sunset with its pinks and oranges, but the simple greys made a splendor of their own. This moment was still worthy of an abundance of gratitude.
When I know where my strength and faith are rooted, and that overflowing with thankfulness is not about me, life is just easier. I don’t just want to be thankful for the obvious blessings, I want to be obsessively grateful for the details of my life. I want to be grateful for the pain in my back every morning that forces me to slow down and stretch. I want to be thankful for the four pink vintage Christmas bulbs that are now broken but for a season they added beauty to my tree. I want to bask in the long lines of the grocery store because that gives me a moment to just breathe.
So this year, as I think of all that I have to be thankful for; a house full of family, health, a warm home and plenty of food, I want to go to the next level and be obsessively grateful for the dirty dishes, the spilled juice and the noises of overstimulated children. Because that’s where the sparkle is found, in the details that may not always be perfect but are always worthy of gratitude.
