Thanksgiving

So I'll go ahead and go the obvious route this week. What am I thankful for?

While I would like to go ahead and go over what I'm thankful for and would love to get some comments regarding what you all are thankful for as well I'd like to go in a slightly different direction. When I was thinking about what to post I started thinking about what I'm not thankful for. And without getting too mushy I realized, I can't think of anything. Are there portions of my life I'd rather not go through again? Obviously. Are there people and things in my life or that used to be in my life that I wish weren't or cause/d problems? Again, the answer is a pretty obvious yes. The thing is, why shouldn't I be thankful for those things too? If I truly believe that God is in control then all of those things are, in some way or another, for my benefit. Whether I realize it or not, or ever will realize it, is beside the point. I have to trust that God has my benefit, or the benefit of those around me in mind. Therefore, why shouldn't I be thankful for those things.

Couple of examples. First of all, I lived in St Louis for about 3 months in the fall of 2012. I worked a terrible job there for about 2 of those months. It required me to lie, required me to change who I wanted to be to be successful, got me arrested, and didn't pay me. I had a boss that thought only of himself, coworkers that weren't necessarily the best influences even if they were friends, and made me think very poorly of myself. It made me do what I had sworn to myself I wouldn't ever do, borrow money from my parents to get by. In short, it was about as awful of an experience as I've had in my life. But I can, am, and should be thankful for all of that on 2 levels. First of all, through all of that I still had a roof over my head, food in my fridge, and clothes on my back to go along with friends and family that loved and supported me. The second level is a little more long reaching. First of all, ever since, in the 2 jobs that I've held, even though parts of them have frustrated me, angered me, or stressed me out, I've been able to realize that things aren't really that bad. Furthermore, in this most recent one it helps me to focus on the positives, I'm still getting paid, I'm not lying to people, I've got good coworkers and bosses, and it allows me to pay my bills without any help. So, even though it's stressful and makes me want to avoid the entire state of Georgia like the plague, I still can't, and won't complain.

Second example would be high school basketball. For those of you who know much about me (which is I'm assuming most of you) you know that basketball is my game. I love playing, watching, coaching, or just talking about it as much as I can. Makes sense considering I've spent a good portion of my life living in Indiana. So naturally, I played for my high school. To say those 4 seasons were frustrating would be an understatement. Despite my unwavering effort, despite tearing ligaments and tendons for the team, despite carrying scars to this day from practices and games, I played little. Even worse, at times, especially my senior year, it seemed as though my coach wouldn't even think about playing me. For a 14-18 year old that was beyond frustrating. My whole life I'd been taught to work hard, put in the effort, and keep a good, team first, attitude, and eventually something would come your way and something good would happen. But I kept doing all those things and nothing seemed to go my way. It seriously bothered me. The thing of it is of course, that life doesn't work that way either. Just because you work hard and have a good attitude doesn't mean you'll succeed. You also have to have the talent, or knowledge, or skill. You also need luck. There's a thousand things other than just hard work that determine success at anything. Hard work goes a long way, but it isn't the sole factor. So, seeing that firsthand as a teenager/high schooler, and looking back on it now, when something doesn't break my way even though I've done everything in my power for it to do so, I'm better equipped to let it roll off my shoulders and move on with my life.

As always, Even so come quickly O Lord Jesus