A Thankful Spirit

In the third chapter of Created to Be His Help Meet, Debi contrasts "a merry heart vs. a poor-me attitude." She explains that a "downcast, unthankful attitude is a dishonor to God."

This has been one of the hardest weeks of my life, and I have cried a lot. This is extremely unusual for me. I seldom cry. In the midst of the distresses that came into my life, I was comforted to remember that Solomon said that "There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven--A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance." In the middle of all the distress, the Lord reminded me that I have many things for which I can be thankful. He didn't tell me what they were; that was my assignment. It was hard at first. But in time I have thought of quite a few blessings, any one of which outweighs the burdens that I am bearing right now. God Himself, with His great love for me is at the top of the list. In time I found myself content, even though the circumstances didn't change. The contentment was a gift from God, but one that I had to take the time to unwrap.

Oh, there is a time to grieve. But I don't want to wallow in it. No person or relationship or circumstance is perfect. As Edith Schaeffer wrote, "People throw away what they could have by insisting on perfection which they cannot have, and looking for it where they will never find it." The answer to dealing with imperfection is to learn the grace of contentment and thankfulness.

I love this poem that was submitted by Dillon and Patti Bayes to Good Housekeeping in 1994. They won a cruise for Valentine's Day, if my memory serves me correctly, as a result of winning the contest to which they submitted it.

"We gave. . .
when we wanted to receive.
We served. . .
when we wanted to feast.
We shared. . .
when we wanted to keep.
We listened. . .
when we wanted to talk.
We submitted. . .
when we wanted to reign.
We forgave. . .
when we wanted to remember.
We stayed. . .
when we wanted to leave."

That is the foundation and conclusion of contentment.

I can be content for Jesus. He will help me too.