Thankfulness

I bought groceries yesterday and I didn't use a single coupon.  Perhaps this is normal for most people, but for me, it is a far deviation from my standard practice.  Just 10 years ago, I wouldn't have even considered buying something other than milk, bread, or produce without meeting two criteria.  First it had to be on sale, and second, I had to have a coupon.  As I walked down the aisles of Meijer, I was overwhelmed with thankfulness.  Why had God allowed us to be in a position where I didn't have to use coupons anymore?  Was it because I am such a good person?  No.  That obviously could not be the answer.  Was it because we try to be responsible with our money?  Perhaps, but even people who are responsible with money are hit with catastrophic situations.  In the end, I decided that God extended goodness to us simply because He is good.  And I am so thankful. 

But sometimes situations aren't good.  Roll back time 18 months and I had trouble seeing and walking.  It was a bad situation.  No one could figure out what was going on.  I didn't have a doctor, because mine had retired, and I found myself in dire need of help.  So through the advice of some people at church and my husband's persistence, I landed in the office of a retired Army doctor who ordered various tests, then promptly sent me to Mayo Clinic.  I was scared.  I thought maybe I was dying.  But through it all, I was really thankful.  Thankful to be suffering in the USA where we have access to the best care in the world.  Thankful for a husband who was patient and kind in a dark time.  Thankful for kids who would push me on a wheeled office chair to the bathroom when my legs stopped working.  Thankful for a friend and her family who took time out of their lives to take me to Mayo. God was still providing for me even when the circumstances seemed grim.  In the midst of a bad situation, God was still extending his goodness to me.

Right now, times are better.  Things are looking up. But I know life is full of ups and downs.  Sin is everywhere.  The world isn't perfect, and since I live in this world, I'll never be immune from trouble.  But I can always be thankful, because God is always good.  He has not left this world to its own devices and He'll never leave me.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Thessalonians 5:18