This past week I've had the priviledge of experiencing my first American Thanksgiving. It was an interesting experience, gathering with others around a feast of turkey with all the trimmings, and a time of fellowship where the focus was on giving thanks, at least until the football game started. Yes American football and Thanksgiving day go hand in hand, but that's another topic i won't get into here.
To be honest, lately I've had a hard time being thankful. With a series of negative experiences over the past year (and longer), my focus has been very much on what I've lost rather than on the blessings I've received. Sitting by the thanksgiving table, I really struggled to think of things I should be thankful for. While I know there are several things I could be thankful for, somehow my thoughts focused on my losses. Why was my attention was more on the negative than the positive?
The news media seems to act in a similar way, negative news gets much more attention than positive news. Is this really our natural way or thinking, or have we been conditioned to focus on the negative rather than the positive? I this how God created us to think and respond?
Now it's quite normal to feel bad when there's bad news, and feel good when there's good news. What I'm questioning is what we dwell on, and how it effects our emotions and outlook in life. We're instructed in scripture: "In all things give thanks, for this is the will of God"(1 Thes 5:18). Does this mean even being thankful for bad news?
It seems to be more a question of focus. Do I dwell on the on the bad, or do I see how blessed I am regardless if I've just lost my job, business, or a close friend. Sadness comes naturally in these situations, but being thankful for what we have received improves our perspective. Regardless of how big our losses may be, we can still count our blessings. And each blessing we count is a seed which renews our hope for the future.
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