Giving Thanks
Okay, so I have recently starting going to the gym (ugh) and have been pretty committed so far. What I've discovered is that I really can't get through a workout without having water. There's this skinny little thing (ugh) who I'm sure is a wonderful girl, but she's in there every day, running (ugh) at like 7 mph for an hour straight. No joke. And, no water for her. Not me. Twenty minutes of brisk walking and you'd think I had been out in the Sahara for a few days dying in the desert. Now, not only do I need this water, but I am very particular about what it comes in. I have tried multiple water bottles. No straws, nothing that I have to suck on to get water to come out, no twist tops - they just don't work. I have a cheap little one that the top pops up and I squeeze it and voila, water.
So I'm rushing around in the morning, trying to get my stuff together and planning to hit the gym after work. And I can't find my water bottle. I checked the car, the dishwasher, the gym bag, the cupboards, and no luck. And, for one of the few times in my life when I've been unable to find something, I'm actually relatively calm. (I seriously have broken down and cried over not being able to find something that was relocated a few minutes later). So I just decide that I don't have time to find it and I need to put on my shoes and head off to work. I open the closet, find my shoes out of the massive pile of footwear, and I just so happen to look up and see my beloved water bottle sitting on the shelf above the coats.
And, the cool thing was my reaction. Immediately the words "Thanks God!" came out of my mouth. Now, I'd love to tell you it's because I've got 1 Thessalonians 5:18 nailed down, where I truly "give thanks in all circumstances." Actually, it's the opposite. This idea of thankfulness has been on my mind lately, especially about being thankful in all circumstances. I've been trying to learn this in little pieces. I'm thankful for the obvious stuff. For friends, for family, for the big things I see God doing in my life. Not too hard. So I decided to try being thankful for the little things, what I would normally take for granted, and recognize them as things to be appreciative of. Like finding a close parking space when it's pouring down rain or seeing that chicken's on sale again at Kroger when my freezer's empty. And so by being intentional about telling God thanks for these little things in my life I thought it was so cool that on that morning, in the chaos and frustration of not being able to find a stupid water bottle that when I found it, my reaction was one of thanks. It's starting to come from the heart now, not from forcing myself to do it.
The next step of course is learning to be thankful for the tough stuff. For the things that make me cry or get me upset and for situations in life that don't go the way I think God should make them go. But the amazing part is that God can do this in my life. If my heart is willing and open to let Him work in my life, He can change me.
After all, I was thankful for a water bottle.
Emily
So I'm rushing around in the morning, trying to get my stuff together and planning to hit the gym after work. And I can't find my water bottle. I checked the car, the dishwasher, the gym bag, the cupboards, and no luck. And, for one of the few times in my life when I've been unable to find something, I'm actually relatively calm. (I seriously have broken down and cried over not being able to find something that was relocated a few minutes later). So I just decide that I don't have time to find it and I need to put on my shoes and head off to work. I open the closet, find my shoes out of the massive pile of footwear, and I just so happen to look up and see my beloved water bottle sitting on the shelf above the coats.
And, the cool thing was my reaction. Immediately the words "Thanks God!" came out of my mouth. Now, I'd love to tell you it's because I've got 1 Thessalonians 5:18 nailed down, where I truly "give thanks in all circumstances." Actually, it's the opposite. This idea of thankfulness has been on my mind lately, especially about being thankful in all circumstances. I've been trying to learn this in little pieces. I'm thankful for the obvious stuff. For friends, for family, for the big things I see God doing in my life. Not too hard. So I decided to try being thankful for the little things, what I would normally take for granted, and recognize them as things to be appreciative of. Like finding a close parking space when it's pouring down rain or seeing that chicken's on sale again at Kroger when my freezer's empty. And so by being intentional about telling God thanks for these little things in my life I thought it was so cool that on that morning, in the chaos and frustration of not being able to find a stupid water bottle that when I found it, my reaction was one of thanks. It's starting to come from the heart now, not from forcing myself to do it.
The next step of course is learning to be thankful for the tough stuff. For the things that make me cry or get me upset and for situations in life that don't go the way I think God should make them go. But the amazing part is that God can do this in my life. If my heart is willing and open to let Him work in my life, He can change me.
After all, I was thankful for a water bottle.
Emily
Labels: Emily
posted by Missy at
12:01 AM
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