Finding Thankfulness

Author Mike Dellosso did an excellent blog post on Finding Thankfulness. I am posting it below, all of it is his words:

Somtimes life throws some real junk at us. It's like that merciless bully that just won't leave us alone. It's gotta keep coming and coming with the bad stuff. Relentless. Overwhelming. Cruel. And just when you think, "It can't get much worse than this" . . . it does.

Ever been there? I know I have. And I know many others who have as well.

This is the time of year when thankfulness is foremost on our minds. Everyone's saying their thankful for this and thankful for that. But what about when you're in that valley and the bully is hot on your heels, ready to dish out another beating? What about when you just don't feel very thankful at all? Things are bleak, the color for the day is black, gray at best, and the tunnel is long and dark with no light to be seen?

Like I said, I've been there.

And here's what I learned: there's always something to be thankful for. I know it sounds cliche-ish and maybe it is. But it's true. Every situation, every circumstance, every valley, every dark tunnel, has something to be thankful for. Oh, sometimes you have to look hard for it, and at the time it may not seem like much, but it's there. I promise.

I believe that God inserts these little blessings into every trial we go through, pinpoints of light. His fingerprints are there. Sometimes (maybe most times) they're not very visible and you have to go through some work to dust for them, but if you look closely enough, you'll find them. And then they'll be so obvious you'll wonder why you didn't see them all along and you'll cling to them like your life depends on it. Because it does.

Last year at this time I was undergoing chemo for my colon cancer, still had my ileostomy, and was struggling in more ways than I cared to admit. So I had to go back and see what I wrote on this topic of thankfulness last year. Here's a snippet:

This is going to sound really weird and maybe even a bit sick, but one of the things I'm thankful for this year is my battle with cancer.

Because of the cancer that has invaded my body I've experienced things, learned things, witnessed things, and prayed things I never would have otherwise. I've seen God work in, yes, miraculous ways. I've seen His faithfulness up close and personal, been on the receiving end of His grace, felt the comfort of His arms around me, found things in His Word I've never seen before, and heard the soothing sound of His voice in my ear.

Like I said, there's always something to be thankful for. Think about

original post at: http://mikedellosso.blogspot.com/2009/11/finding-thankfulness.html