thankful thoughts Here I sit at 4:40am, musing over thankfulness. Anyone who knows me knows I am less than enthusiastic about the hour.

It’s Sunday (technically).  But that’s not helping my mood.

I had a post on thankfulness pre-written and scheduled as I slumbered until the last minute before heading to church.

But apparently, God has other plans.

So I sit, bleary eyed and waiting.  I am thinking through my blessings, reading scriptures on thankfulness, humming songs on the subject under my breath.  All welcome exercises, but not my first choice in the darkness of an early morning.

I am still and listening, trusting God to open my heart.

I can list a hundred tiny things to be thankful for right now, everything from the softness of my sheets to the coolness of my bedroom.  But that’s not it.

I can list the obvious things to be thankful for, things like health and happiness and husband and home.  But that’s not it.

While those are all good, they are not enough.  Being thankful for the easy things, the things I should be thankful for, isn’t the point of this exercise.    Today, it’s about being thankful for the things I would normally complain about (like being awake at this hour).

It’s so easy to complain, to focus on the things I don’t like.  There is always a willing participant in my complaining, always someone who will help me complain and encourage me in my discontent.  It’s easy to find someone to participate in competitive complaining.

And yet…

It isn’t.

Each complaint murmured makes my life harder.  The complaining and grumbling spirit makes each task take longer, feel more draining, and grinds me down.  The daily list of housekeeping, parenting, and adulthood feels like a millstone around my neck.

Enter thankfulness.

When I find it in my soul to be thankful in all things, each act of gratitude makes my life easier.  The thanksgiving and praising sprint makes each task fly by, giving me energy and lifting me up.  The daily list of housekeeping, parenting, and adulthood becomes a barely noticeable backdrop to my walking prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord.

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  Colossians 3:15-17 ESV

 Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.   1 Thesselonians 5:16-18 ESV

And now it’s an hour later.  And I am thankful.

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Susan Baker

Susan Baker

Houston Mom Blogger Susan Baker has a passion for encouraging weary worn out mothers to find joy in everyday motherhood. She has two elementary school boys, one engineering husband, and one cat. She has a strange fascination for eggs, PINK, socks, and books. She spends far too much time on Social Media and at Target. She is crazy in love with her family. She serves an amazing God. She lives an ordinary life filled with wonder.
Susan Baker

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Susan Baker

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