Blessed with Less.

You know how it is easier to praise and thank God when things are going well for you and you have what you want? For the past few months I have been making a practice of thanking God for his blessings every night before I fall asleep... I thank him for the people I saw, the friends I talked with, the food I ate, the opportunities I had, and anything else I can of, but what I never really thought about was thanking him for the things I didn't like. Now, this may sound like a strange (or stupid?) concept, but really, give it a moment or two and really think about it. God never promised that things will be easy or good, but He does promise that He will walk us through all situations and use them to bring Him glory and bring us closer to Him. Those are two amazing concepts. In light of His sacrifice and grace, how could I not want to bring Him glory? He deserves more than is possible to comprehend! Considering the smidgen of knowledge I have of His holy and compassionate character, how could I not want to have a more intimate relationship with HIm? If going through rough periods in life and not having all that I think I need brings me those things, what reason do I have to complain or be deliberately thankless of them? Now I know this may sound a tad masochistic and I have never honestly liked (who has?) being put in situations where I cannot truly be self reliant, but I am challenged to be thankful for the things that don't make my life easy. Along side with being thankful for having a car to drive, I can somehow be thankful that it makes terrible noises and is expensive to fix. I can be thankful that even though I feel lonely, it gives me a new opportunity to embrace Christ as my Comfort and Companion. Sure, there are a lot of things that I can't think of a reason to be thankful for and I don't know what God's purpose for them are, but I do know that He loves me and He is still Good. He has Blessed me with Less because HE LOVES ME. I am His child. He is my Father. I CAN be thankful that regardless of my situation, He invites me to come to Him and grow in my understanding of His grace and character. Being Blessed with Less really is a blessing!