A Distracted Thankfulness

 Colossians 3:6-7

 6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

 Being thankful takes discipline and a reliance on the Holy Spirit. I remember one holiday break in college when I had decided that on Thanksgiving Day, I would spend some time in prayer by myself focusing all of my prayer on the blessings that the Lord had provided me in this life and the life to come. It was harder than I thought.

 I always enjoyed coming home from school for break. In the house that I grew up in, it was always festive, smelled of good coffee, and was decorated to the hilt. Having three other siblings and my parents present, there was always something interesting to talk about, good food being served, and plenty of good football on the television.

 I eventually did get away by myself briefly, but I had to marvel at the difficulty of the whole pursuit. However, even as a clergy member, I know that being thankful, like any other act of prayer, meditation, and character development - is plagued by distraction (usually by things that in and of themselves are not bad).

 May God lead us to become more and more a people who are thankful instead of so easily critical; accepting of the decisions of others when our preferences are not realized; more resilient facing things out of our control. As we do, we will find thankfulness a salve to our unhappiness and a reminder of the gifts of God's grace and love all around us.