Day 32 {Desire to Inspire}

My sweet friend Amanda over at A Royal Daughter has challenged her readers who blog, to blog every Thursday with purpose. I am linking up with her community today for Desire to Inspire.

This blog was started with one goal in mind: To help me to grow a thankful heart. This was something that I needed to do to reconnect myself to God and His blessings. However, that self centered attitude didn't last long and I am so thankful that I get to share this journey with you.

On this journey, I have found myself asking this question daily...

Who am I to decide what His blessings look like?

So often we long for the one thing that we think would complete us, make us happy and fulfilled. Friends, let us not fall into that trap. 

Look at Job. His family, his livelihood, his health, all ripped from him... and what was his response?

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
    may the name of the Lord be praised. (Job 1:20)

Let us remember to praise His name in every situation. 

There is a wonderful (though sad) story that my dad tells about a friend. I heard this story for the first time when I was 8 or 9, and yet, I think of it almost daily.

This friend was running late and was afraid he would miss his flight for an important business trip. He rushed himself into a frenzy, yelling at people and being generally unpleasant. None of it mattered though, he missed the flight.

He was distraught. Priding himself on his punctuality, he worried how this would make him look in the eyes of his peers.

He booked another flight and sat down to wait. 

Not long after sitting to wait, he found out that his original flight had crashed. There were no survivors. 

He fell to his knees and thanked God for His protection. 

So often we forget that God can see it all. He is not bound to the same temporal limits that we are. 

The very things that frustrate us, make us see red, that leave us worried or afraid, that cause us to examine our lives in a new light... those are God's blessings too. They are His protections, His provision. 

How much would it change your perspective to think about things in this way?

You caught a red light on your way to work. Did you just avoid a collision further up the road?

You drove all the way to the store to get one item and they are sold out. Will you end up needing that extra money for an unexpected expense?

You dropped a $20 bill in a gas station and are so upset with yourself. Did the person who found it not have the money to put gas in their car?

 All of these things and more have happened to me personally.

What if, when things seem to be falling apart, it's really God holding us together. 

I am thankful for the blessings that God chooses to grant to me, even if I can't always see them at the moment.

I am thankful that no matter how many times I confess frustration to God about the way this or that is happening, He continues to bless me.

I am thankful that I never get my way, but rather, that God's way reigns supreme in my life.

What are you thankful for today?