30 Days of Thankful
Being grateful is becoming an extinct emotion. It is endangered. I believe this with all my heart. Especially here in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, we are much better at complaining than being thankful and grateful. This month I am dedicating my Facebook posts, this blog and hopefully my every day walk to thankfulness. My hope and prayer is that when this month is over, I will be so in tune with the things in my life that are blessings that I will no longer think of the negative, but overflow with contentment, peace and love.
That being said, it is often hard to be thankful when negative thoughts are nagging at the back of one's mind. I want to attack those right away so that I will be able to focus on the important things in my life that I am so very thankful for.
Today, I am thankful for the people in my life that are encouraging. For those that seek for me to be a better person. For those that lift me up, help me to see myself the way God does, and choose to edify rather than tear down. Some days that requires hard truths (always in love) but truth is what helps to cleanse us and build us up.
If you are one of these people that has helped to make me a better person, thank you. Thank you for loving me enough to want me to grow and to help me to walk in a way that brings honor and glory to our God. Thank you for being truthful and speaking in love to me.
Thank you caring about me.
For those that the above does not apply, I forgive you. That may sound snotty and condescending, but it is something I have truly had to work on. I forgive those that have torn me down. I forgive those that have spoken in ways that have destroyed my confidence or have been a stumbling block to me. Forgiveness is hard. For me it is not replaying in my head 100 times a day something someone has said to me, typed to me, or has been accidentally overheard. It is loving the person that hurt me enough to say, "I forgive your words and actions, whether you meant to intentionally hurt me or not". It is forgiving even when forgiveness is not being sought.
I know there have been times in my life that I have hurt others. Some I am very aware of and have sought forgiveness, some I am not aware. I can not change the past, but I can, from this moment forward, endeavor to do what is right. I never want to be "that" person again. I need forgiveness from those that I have wronged just as much as I wish to forgive those that have hurt me.
I want to love and encourage the way I have been loved and encouraged. I want to love and encourage the way God expects. Thank you again to the encouragers. The difference you have made in my life can not be measured. The effects of your love, how far reaching your words really are, will only be known on the other side.
That being said, it is often hard to be thankful when negative thoughts are nagging at the back of one's mind. I want to attack those right away so that I will be able to focus on the important things in my life that I am so very thankful for.
Today, I am thankful for the people in my life that are encouraging. For those that seek for me to be a better person. For those that lift me up, help me to see myself the way God does, and choose to edify rather than tear down. Some days that requires hard truths (always in love) but truth is what helps to cleanse us and build us up.
If you are one of these people that has helped to make me a better person, thank you. Thank you for loving me enough to want me to grow and to help me to walk in a way that brings honor and glory to our God. Thank you for being truthful and speaking in love to me.
Thank you caring about me.
For those that the above does not apply, I forgive you. That may sound snotty and condescending, but it is something I have truly had to work on. I forgive those that have torn me down. I forgive those that have spoken in ways that have destroyed my confidence or have been a stumbling block to me. Forgiveness is hard. For me it is not replaying in my head 100 times a day something someone has said to me, typed to me, or has been accidentally overheard. It is loving the person that hurt me enough to say, "I forgive your words and actions, whether you meant to intentionally hurt me or not". It is forgiving even when forgiveness is not being sought.
I know there have been times in my life that I have hurt others. Some I am very aware of and have sought forgiveness, some I am not aware. I can not change the past, but I can, from this moment forward, endeavor to do what is right. I never want to be "that" person again. I need forgiveness from those that I have wronged just as much as I wish to forgive those that have hurt me.
I want to love and encourage the way I have been loved and encouraged. I want to love and encourage the way God expects. Thank you again to the encouragers. The difference you have made in my life can not be measured. The effects of your love, how far reaching your words really are, will only be known on the other side.
Lovely, truly lovely. I read this today on Day 2, and, am so uplifted by it, because, while I fall so short of perfection, your words reiterated that God is in control of my life (and I love those glimpses that I wish were constant viewings). Yesterday, I lived out the forgiveness you state, with a friend who has dropped off the face of the earth. She came back around yesterday, and, the old me, would have (I'm ashamed to say) been rather cold. This person virtually disappeared for 4 months, or only comes around when she needs something. But, last night, she came around. And, she did need something. Mercy. Just like I do every day of my life. But, you know what? Until I read this post, it didn't really register with me that I had denied my old self -- until I read your words and her name popped up in my head. And, I'm encouraged. I'm not a total lost cause. I let Christ work though me to love someone who I felt had hurt me. And, He worked through me so gently, that I needed to be reminded. You reminded me. Thank you. I am grateful for you, your kind, instructive words, and for letting God use you. Well done, my friend. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThank you Julia for your kind words. I worried about how this entry would be taken. I worried it sounded as if I am complaining and negative when what I really want to be is honest and then thankful. I want to be an open book with others on my own struggles in order to encourage and uplift and that is what I hope I have done. :-)
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