Why in the world should I be thankful?

No one ever saw this pandemic coming. We never planned for our world to just change in such a drastic fashion. When something like this happens, what do you do? We can’t control it and it is so hard to watch our loved ones suffer and to watch others die. There is so much anger also….. this pandemic did not help make that better either. Maybe it just magnified it. I don’t know. What I do know is that it is so hard to be thankful right now. So, because of that, I have had to make a conscious decision to find the things that I need to be thankful about, because that is the only thing that I can control.

Here are some of the things that I am thankful for: I’m thankful when morning comes. I can tell my family that I love them. I can sing along with the radio. I can pray. I can read my bible. I can smile and wave to a stranger on the street. I can help a neighbor. I can give a kind word to someone who is sad. I can laugh or cry with a friend. I can…… (you fill in the blank here). In other words, I can make a choice to be better, to have a better attitude. Those are the things that I can control. The world will still be going crazy and as long as there are humans on earth who choose to do bad things with their free will, then it will stay crazy. But I choose to believe that even despite all of that, God has me in his hands and He gives me the strength and courage to get through each day. He has each of you in His hands as well. All you have to do is ask for His help. So, start by finding something to be thankful for.

So, what did I learn? There are so many things that I have taken advantage of at different points in my life. For instance, the fact that the sun rises and sets every day. The family that will be there even when I am not the nicest person to be around. The birds that build nests and have babies and the trees that continuously cycle through the seasons. It humbles me and lifts me up all at the same time. I am better because of it. So, I pray that I won’t take those things and more for granted any longer.

What can you gain from it? Being a better person, never hurt anyone and it might just help a lot of people in the long run. Finding joy is about opening yourself up to all the possibilities of life that we so often take for granted. In this way, you too can learn to laugh at the days to come!