Thankful In All Things

Last weekend I was asked to share briefly at a Thanksgiving gathering. As I thought about my speaking points, it was easy to list the things for which I am grateful. I am grateful for my husband and my kids. I am grateful for our respective families and friends. I am grateful for health, security and for provision… and the list goes on. I have found that if you take the time to compile a gratitude list, you will quickly see that you have so much to be thankful for.

That’s not what I wanted to talk about, however.

There are other things that may never make our gratitude list, yet have the potential to shape our viewpoint and, in turn, the tone of our lives. Things that impact us so significantly, yet hardly receive any mention at all. 

I was asked to speak of something for which I was grateful. I chose to speak of my struggles.

Yes, I am grateful for my struggles. We all have them, and yet they are different for each of us. I’ve come to realize that every item that may feature on one gratitude list is a potential struggle for someone else. 

Troubles are no fun. We often see them as the opposite of blessings. If we are honest with ourselves, we may even see them as a punishment. Perhaps on some level we may believe that we are deserving of the difficulties that we face; the difficulties that seem to interfere with our absolute enjoyment of this life that we have been gifted.

That being said, how can we be grateful for our struggles?

The key is to understand that there can be a purpose in our problems. Sometimes, our troubles are our biggest teachers. But the choice is ours. We can wallow in our struggles, or we can learn from them.

Many times, our difficulties are transient. Problems on a whole may be constant; we can’t expect to have a life without hardship. But the specific struggles themselves are only for a season. Purpose in your heart not to emerge from that season without a lesson.

And the lessons are there in abundance!

Through our darkest times, we may learn about divine light. 

In grief, we may learn to appreciate life and the living.

When all that we have ever known seems to crumble, we may learn about new perspectives, new ways of thinking and of living which may offer more freedom and peace than we ever knew possible.

When keeping up with outward appearances of success weakens our resolve, we may learn to journey inward and, in so doing, discover strengths in our own selves where we once saw shortcomings.

Once you find purpose in your struggles and learn from their lessons, it’s your turn to share. Share what you have learned. Use your experience to encourage. Your life story may be just the lifeline someone needs. You don’t have to wait until your struggle is over in order to share, either. Our struggles constantly speak to us, if we would only be willing to hear what they have to say. Many people dream of being a testament to overcoming difficulty, but they refuse to take the tests that life hands them.

So embrace your struggles. Be grateful for them and for the lessons that they offer to teach. Implement those lessons in your life. And then, once you have shared your experiences and used them as a means to encourage others in their plight, be grateful for the opportunity to give of yourself and of your life. 

In turn, you may find that someone is grateful for you, and for the life changing help that you have been able to offer, all because of your struggles.