Give thanks in all circumstances

     What? Are you kidding me? Give thanks when your friend dies unexpectedly? Give thanks when your health fails? Give thanks in all circumstances? Well guess what!? It's true! I've noticed, when I offer up an ache or a pain to God whether it be from my body or my heart, it eases. Sometimes, maybe it even goes away.

     Giving "thanks" in all circumstances directs that circumstance to the watchful eye of a merciful and loving God. I heard something the other day that helped me to find suffering a little bit easier. The person said, " God doesn't want anything bad to happen to us, but He allows it to happen. In doing so, He sees the woe and gives us strength to bear it. All the while teaching us that's something good will come out of it, if we surrender and offer up in Thanksgiving for that trial". It's an awful lot to ask in some circumstances. But it honestly is true. That in our surrender of Thanksgiving we are telling God that we're trusting Him and that's really all He wants us to do. Even when we are so down that we think we will never rise to our feet again, He is there with us. Helping us. The times that the burden seems a little bit lighter, is actually Him lifting it upon His own shoulders. Carrying it and having carried it the whole time. Sometimes the heaviness doesn't let our hearts see this, but it's true. Thanking Him, especially when circumstances seem so dire that the loneliness of it all seems hopeless, one phrase can ease it all, "Thank you".

     Think of Mary, our Mother. There She was, a young girl with Her whole life ahead of Her. Unknowing in so many human ways. Normal, except for the fact of Her predestination that She had no idea of. Hers to take on humanity with the birth of the Savior that would save us all. Willingly, in this role, thanking God in this circumstance, is a perfect example of how we should be. Many questions probably went through Her mind, like, " what do I tell Joseph? What do I tell my parents? How am I supposed to do this and fulfill everything I'm supposed to that God is sending me? " Yet..... She's sang the great Magnificat, which throughout the whole song gives "thanks".

     Great things result when giving Thanks back to God. Not just in the good times, but also in the rough times. Remembering, that all things in our lives are being watched by the Holy eyes of God. It helps us to give Thanks with all our heart, all of our mind, and all our soul. 

     Just as He gives us His "Peace", we give Him our "Thanks"..