Wednesday, February 23, 2011

An Addiction

I believe that thankfulness is addictive. Once I start thanking God... I can't stop.

Lately I have felt a restlessness, discontentment, sadness, confusion, discouragement, doubt, etc etc for no conscious reason that I can figure out. Feelings that do not promote a thankful attitude. So one day walking a long ways home from parking a long ways away after a long day at work, I started complaining and hosting a pity party for myself. Then I remembered where that gets me: Nowhere FAST.

So looking down at my feet that were taking me home, I thanked God for them, then for my toes that feel soft or course sand, and my toenails that protect my toes, then the tiny bones in my foot and the ligaments and the vessels that carry blood all over my body, then the four chambers of my heart that pump without a single bit of instruction from me, and my lungs that stimulate me to take deep breaths and yawn and give me air to laugh with and speak with... that's not even scratching the surface. Then I think about my parents and their parents and their ambitions, and values, and lessons, and punishments, and gifts, and lessons. And then my sisters and their beauty and influence and love and laughter and thoughts and insights and suggestions... and I could go one FOREVER... Really... I didn't even touch on the beautiful gifts that God gave us... a legacy of miracles and commitment, loyalty, faithfulness, mercy, forgiveness, courage, creativity, mystery...

So whether we live in a hut in the middle of the bush in Africa where we are surrounded by wide open spaces of green fields/forests and blue skies with incredible shapes of clouds or we're in downtown NYC looking at the creativity of man inspired by the creativity of our Creator and the millions of people with different eyes, personalities, thoughts, hair color, cell dna... We have something to be thankful for... an infinate number of things:)