Thankfulness - or Not

Good morning, Five Minute Families. This is a week of thankfulness in America. Everywhere we turn, we see fall colors, culinary treats, and the words grateful, thankful, and blessed. Our and our sons’ Bible studies, the call to worship, and the sermon itself this past Sunday were all about thankfulness. Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name.” What about those of us who might be struggling to be thankful? I am not talking about the logical thankfulness of being alive or having food on the table. I am talking about struggling to be thankful in our first thoughts and ongoing thoughts. For some that is due to real, right-now events such as a spouse having just died or a child addicted to meth. For others that struggle may be due to past hurts and unhealed wounds, and for yet others, mental illness may keep their brains from making the transition to thankfulness. So how do we navigate the Thanksgiving holiday when we are struggling? In pain, grief, trauma, or mental illness, hormones and neurochemicals are disrupted. Those disruptions can cause fatigue, anxiety, loss of appetite, disturbed sleep and more. The brain is adversely affected by all of those. In those times, it can feel monumentally difficult to join in with the ‘thankfulness brigade.’ Yet, we need thankfulness in our hearts, minds, and lives. We need thankfulness spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally. Being thankful is known to raise “feel good” hormones and lessen stress hormones. We humans are inclined to covetousness, and we often focus on what we don’t have. Philippians 4 verse six begins “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” The great thing is that God’s word doesn’t end there, He goes on to say, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” By intentionally choosing an attitude of thankf