Grateful for the good
April 2020
If there is one thing I have learned this year, it’s that uncertainty is certain. Everyone faces challenges and trials, be it personally or globally, in their lifetime. Those challenging moments are important; they help to shape who we are. It’s human nature to only focus on that one moment when we are in the thick of it- that one moment is all we feel, all we see, all we know. We might not be able to choose our trials, or when we will face them, but we can choose how we react to them. It is our reaction that will define us, not the trial. It is our reaction that will influence our lives, as well as the lives around us.
To say this year has been a challenge for myself and my family is an understatement. Yes, like the rest of the world we are all coping with our “new normal” in quarantine. But, like many other families, we have been struggling for a number of other reasons. The matriarch of our family passed suddenly in February, one cousin was sworn into the Navy two days before we all went into lock down, and another cousin postponed a two and a half year wedding in the making. This has been a season of grief, and anxiousness and anger for us. We have been hit by so many new and unexpected surprises, that it just does not seem real. Everything has happened so fast, and we are still trying to wrap our heads around it all.
The saying “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”… Yeah, I definitely believe that is a thing. As I have gotten older, I have not only matured emotionally, but spiritually as well. My relationship with Jesus has become stronger and I have leaned on him more in the last few years than I can count. But over these last two and a half months, I have found myself leaning on him even more; not only for comfort and peace, but for understanding and wisdom. It is hard to see the big picture when it feels like your world is falling apart around you. I get it, I totally do. You think to yourself how can things get better? How is this going to help me? How can I fix this? You think of all of the “what can I do’s” when you should be thinking about “what is HE doing”?
As a believer, I have always believed in the idea that everything happens for a reason. For many people, that is a hard concept to wrap your head around. Again, I get it. But as a Christian, I also know that I am not meant to understand everything. All that I can change, or have control over, is how I react and view each situation I am faced with; good and bad.
So 21 days ago, I decided to begin a new devotional called, 21 Days to Cultivate a Grateful Heart. This devotional stuck out to me for two reasons:
1- Science says it takes 21 days to form a new habit. I figured what better time to form a new, and beneficial habit, than now while at home.
2- I wanted to change my mentality from focusing on the negative, to focusing on the positive; I wanted to be grateful for the good in my life.
Gratitude, as defined on Psychology Today, is the process of expressing appreciation for what you have. Not want you want, not what has happened to you, but what you HAVE. After taking stock of all of the challenges I have faced, both personally and on a global scale, I decided to look at things from a different perspective; one of gratitude.
Yeah a lot of really crappy things have happened this year: sickness, death, disappointment, loss, sorrow, grief, I could go on. But there are also a lot of really good things that have happened.
I have seen the joy of a friend sharing the news that she is pregnant. I have seen a family save the life a shelter dog. I have learned that a family friend overcame COVID. I have a friend that got the new job she was hoping for. I have seen people helping others more than I ever have in my life. I have been able to enjoy the outdoors more. I have been able to spend time with my family. I have been able to read more. I have been able to workout, and maintain good health.
While not everyone can share the positives moments I have experienced, they have experienced positive moments of their own, both big and little. And that is something to be grateful for.
It gives me so much hope to know that even in the midst of all of the negative, all of the bad, that good and positive things are still happening. These good things, these positive moments, help to remind me that I am a part of something so much bigger than myself. These moments help me put things into perspective; that even in moments of sadness and sorrow, I can still have hope, and faith, that there is still good in the world. Whether is in the birth of a baby, the smile of a neighbor, or the love of family- there is still good to be grateful for.
That uncertainty, that feeling of unknown- it’s probably for the better. I don’t know about you. but If I had to focus on and take care of as many things and as many people as God does, I don’t know what I would do with myself. The responsibility, the decision making- I was definitely not made to do those things on a global, or divine scale, and neither were you. I am grateful that I do not have to worry about those things. And I am grateful for a God that loves me, and provides exactly what I need, in the exact moment I need it.
I hope that when you are in the middle of something messy or bad, you are able to stop and take stock of what you are feeling and experiencing. And I hope that you remember that the messy is not permanent, but temporary. I hope you look at the messy as a learning experience. I hope you remember the big picture- that you are fearfully, and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). I hope that despite all the bad, you are able to find a bit of good. And I hope, that the good will make you grateful for what you have.
And above all, I hope that you would remember, and be grateful for, John 16:33 (ESV):“ I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world”.
