Thankfulness

By Stephanie Sanders — Aug 7, 2011 5:27pm

Today I am feeling especially thankful.  I didn't wake up in a cheerful mood or anything, I woke up dog tired, but I have chosen to put on thankfulness today. 

Today is a Sunday so we headed out the door to Mass about 9:45am and I started thinking as we are driving about how much better this week I have felt, energy-wise, and to thank God for enough energy to be cheerful, to be able to interact more with my kids, enough energy to go to Portland with Josh and celebrate 8 years of marriage.  Those tiny seeds of thankfulness spread rapidly into an awareness of how close Jesus is to me, physically present in my body, and how grateful I am to be able to welcome Him into my life.  I spent most of Mass thanking God for the good things in my life.

Courage isn't the absence of fear, but choosing to do what's right in the midst of fear. Sometimes thankfulness is like that, choosing to be grateful in the midst of hardship.  Sometimes it is easy.  Today was something of a mix of the two: choosing to be thankful for my health, because today I feel good; choosing to be thankful for the energy I do have to live my life, instead of focusing on the energy I used to have to have.  And you know what?  I may not be happy with my life right now, but I have joy.