Gratias. Gracias. Thanks. - Part I

November is typically a month about being grateful. Giving thanks for the many blessings that you have. Social media is filled with the posts:

Day 3 - I am thankful to my family who always encouraged me.

Day 12 - I am thankful for my cat.

Day 20 - Oops....I forgot to post after day 17.

Now, don't get me wrong. Saying thank you to God is a huge thing and should be a part of our everyday lives (although I will be the first to admit that I am horrible at it). There's an entire spiritual discipline or two about gratitude.

However, it's so easy to say thanks for the stuff that is comfortable and beneficial to us. Of course, I am thankful for my home, heat, electricity, my husband's job, my liberties, my beautiful and healthy children, a dishwasher, free speech, and my snuggly puppy. Those are blessings. Everyone tends to be thankful for blessings.

Now, what about your struggles, difficulties, and the load of crap that you feel weighted down by daily. How can we be thankful for that?

What would it be like to see posts stating gratefulness for our unfortunate circumstances?

Day 1 - I am thankful for the $0.13 cents in my bank account that will remain until payday and am grateful that it's not in the red.

Day 9 - I am thankful for the hole in my sneakers because every time I walk outside, I feel the snow and cold on my feet and am reminded that my nervous system works.

Day 15 - Thankful for the horrible day I am having. I stubbed my toe, broke my coffee pot, the washer broke and my shower is leaking. However, I am alive.

Day 22 - Thank you God for the foreclosure on my home because I know you will use this to make me stronger.

Day 29 - I am thankful for everyone in the hospital, facing terminally illness. They are blessed through their struggles and are stronger than many other people who have never faced death. May we all learn from them and their trials.

Why is it so hard for us to say thank you for those things?


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