Things

Has anyone ever thought about making a list of all your worries?

I feel like many times I worry and stress over all the things in life that causes concern rather than turning it all around and searching for what I have to be grateful for because of it.

I am truly working hard and striving to be conscious of everything in my life, even the bad stuff, that I need to thank God for everyday. I feel like it’s easy to get caught up in a busy life and only turn to the Lord when I am struggling. In reality, I need to be thanking him when life is good even more so.

In spite of all my worries, I do have some happy moments in my life. I have some good days even though many times they are clouded with the storm that is brewing in the back of my mind. It is hard to forget how much my heart aches everyday, but there is some joy regardless of all the pain.

I simply have to search for it.

It is there as clear as day, although sometimes I don’t immediately realize it.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,”

James 1:2

As I was reminded while listening to the sermon I watched yesterday with my daughter and hubby, we are simply on a path to get to where we are going. All the materialism, money, popularity, and all “things” we may desire on Earth will not matter, nor will there be a place for them. What will matter is if we followed the Lord on our way, or if we lived by our own rules.

The sermon, my family’s situation, my worries, my prayers, the holidays….they all have me thinking lately. Thinking about life, about being grateful, about what brings me joy. It’s nice to have shiny new things, but at the end of the day that is all they are.

Things.

We seek more and more in search of finding happiness. Joy.

In the end we realize they are simply distractions. Objects. Just things.

No feelings. No heart. Lifeless. Cold.

Most of us would give away everything we have to save ourselves and those we love. For our health. Our family. For love.

God got that right the first time. However, we are still learning.

Today, I wrote out a list of some of my worries, and I turned those worries into gratefulness. Because at the end of the day, I know there will always be something to be thankful for.

A couple of weeks ago I was traveling back home from out of town and stopped for a coffee for the road. As I ordered and waited in the drive thru I noticed a young man behind me and felt an urge to pay for his coffee. Not because I had extra money to spend, but because my heart led me to do it. Someone had done the same for me a few months earlier.

Had that person sensed I was having a bad day? Maybe.

Regardless, the gesture warmed my heart and made my day thinking a stranger had been so kind. I paid the deed forward in hopes it would make someone else feel the same.

No matter how broken I feel inside I want to remain steadfast on my path. I don’t want to let the bad stuff make me bitter. I don’t want to get distracted by all the shiny things.

I want grace, and I want love. I want it all around me. Even in the midst of all my worries, I know it is there.

It is a promise.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

James 1:12