Thankful

It's all about perspective, I guess. I know, it's hard for me, too, to watch all my friends' and coworkers' posts about their lavish trips and vacations and not envy them. Not wish I could have taken a more extravagant vacation, Or updated my house just a bit more. Or had the fancy stuff that other people have.

It only takes a quick second to glance someone else's way and forget all the blessings right in front of me. Or the trips I have taken in the past. Or the updates we already made on the house. Or the fancy stuff I've collected over the years.

I suddenly don't see the relationships God gave me, the friendships He blessed me with, the abundant provision over our lives in the last two months, or the amazing difference in my health and energy level since last summer. I take for granted the opportunity my boys had to go to camp this year, an opportunity I definitely didn't have growing up. I forget to thank God for blessing us with enough to take two quick, random trips this month as a family to see my parents and later to camp on the beach. And what about that giant camper we all slept in so comfortably?

I hate it when I play the game of comparison, knowing full well how damaging it is and how ungrateful I can quickly become.

I'm trying to shift my focus back to gratitude so I can stop playing this senseless game. We will never have enough (enough money, enough savings, enough blessings, enough relief, enough pleasure, enough rush, enough time). We'll strive for one thing, and then once we have it, we think we need something else. We fight to survive one issue, and then we immediately jump to another one as soon as the first one is resolved. We take that fancy vacation or buy that wanted item only to want something even better next time.  Or if it seemed perfect, it's still not enough until we get to do it again.

Reality check. We'll never arrive at ENOUGH on this side of Heaven. The closest we'll ever come is finding complete satisfaction in Jesus' presence. Everything else I strive for is meaningless and just leaves me feeling anxious for more and more and more.

In my quest to memorize more Scripture this year, God has led me to so many verses that focus on having a thankful heart. I hope the words truly sink in the more I practice them and hide them in my heart. So I think my next few posts are going to focus on specific things (and trials) in my life that I am thankful for. If anything, they are good reminders to me, if not also encouragement to you, so we can both be "overflowing with thankulness" (Col. 2:7b).

Stay tuned.

(Check out my Pinterest board (on the left column on this blog) called Scripture memory to see some of the verses I'm working on. Okay, so I'm still not the greatest with making pins, but at least it's a start. I'm learning.)