I sat down to write this blog post a couple days before Thanksgiving — because, let’s face it, a Thanksgiving Day blog post feels kinda obligatory.

So I thought about all the wonderful things I have to be thankful for. And then I thought about how incredibly easy it is to be thankful for the things that make our lives better, those things we tick off when we “count our blessings.” And then I thought — how are we supposed to feel about the things in our lives that don’t feel like blessings? Are we supposed to be thankful when literal and figurative storms darken our horizon? When loved ones die or struggle with debilitating, chronic, life-altering illness? When business takes a nosedive? When relationships sour? When life just hurts?It was a horribly cloudy, rainy, all-around unpleasant day, weather-wise, when I sat at my computer and typed these words. In general, I hate cloudy, rainy days. They make me feel as if the whole world has turned its back, and after only a few hours of clouds, I sometimes have trouble believing the sun will ever shine again. I struggle to be grateful for the rain in the midst of all the gloom.

That’s a pretty insignificant problem in the grand scheme of things. (I should be thankful, right?!) But no matter the problem, these words from 1 Thessalonians echo in my mind: “Give thanks in all circumstances.” That can be hard. But the next part of that verse is even harder: “For this is God’s will for you.”

In some circumstances, it can be just too hard to give thanks. But what I am incredibly grateful for is that the exhortation is not to be grateful necessarily for the circumstances, but to exercise thankfulness in spite of them. One of the things I know I should be thankful for is that I’m not currently in any circumstance that makes giving thanks feel like an impossible task. But even on a great day, it can be a challenge to live with thankfulness.

Giving thanks isn’t only for the good times, for the happy events, for the material blessings, for the holidays. Giving thanks should be a way of life. I’m the first to admit, I’m not skilled at that way of life, but right now is the perfect time to truly work at putting it into practice.

Happy Thanksgiving.

~ Laura