Giving Thanks For the Hard Times

I was told early into my walk with Christ that we (Christians) grow the most in and to the Lord during our hard times.

I often think, in the midst of times that leave me raw and my soul laid bare, that surely it's all a mistake and The Lord doesn't really want me to go through this!

But He does. 

In the midst of these times, I do grow.  I learn.  I mature.  But these times take a lot out of me.  The Lord allows this so He can replenish me.  

I finally bought the book 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  I am reading it at a s-l-o-w pace.  It's one of those books that I can't rush through.  There are so many insights inside, little pearls of wisdom that are so beneficial for me right now.  

Giving thanks, having a positive and proper attitude is challenging for me.  I tend to naturally be one of those people that is negative.  In fact, I have a very real problem with negativity and anger.  It runs in my family. Whether by habit deeply ingrained from a young age or by some inherited tendency, I've nearly destroyed myself and those around me by such poor thinking and actions.

Reading books by Joyce Meyer and Elizabeth George has helped.  And I am working to implement many of their suggestions.  The 1000 Gifts book challenges me to change my life by being purposeful about giving thanks.

I discovered there is a Instagram challenge that forces me to be thankful by searching for those moments, those small things I might take for granted, and actually keeping track.  Instagram gives me a way to visually capture those things.  I love to read, but I am a very visual person.  Taking pictures adds depth of meaning for me. 

Yesterday the challenge was three hard eucharistoes... Three tough things that I normally wouldn't give thanks for because it's not natural to give thanks for the bad times.  And yet, in faith, I did so. I thanked The Lord for the lessons I would learn.  I thanked God for walking with us in the current storm.  I even thanked God for the humility granted because I feel somewhat responsible for the hard time.  

God has put my family through a lot.  The walk with The Lord hasn't been fun.  But without Him, I can't imagine having the desire to wake up in the mornings. Coffee, bacon, and my beautiful children are amazing to wake up to, but the overwhelming problems that we have faced make me want to climb into bed and stay there.  Christ gently reminds me that He is my life, not the struggles. 

He is my strength.  

I am thankful.