Day #27 of my Big Thanksgiving Challenge. Excerpted from my 100 Days of Thanksgiving Devotional-Journal which you can order when you CLICK HERE.

Thankful in Retrospect

At times I have looked back at my life and seen that the very things, circumstances, people, relationships, challenges, trials, tribulations, struggles, hurdles, obstacles, hard times, brokenness, world events, etc. that I felt so miserable about I allowed to keep me in a place of bondage to myself wherein I missed amazing opportunities to be thankful to God. Only in retrospect, by the grace of God, with the Holy Spirit illuminating the truth, have I been able to look back and see how thankful I could and should have been had I had a different attitude and perspective – and had I humbled myself and truly put my full trust in the Lord.

Now, in my looking back, I have had Thanksgiving to God because of all He did back then in me, through me, with me, in the world, in others’ lives, etc.

I wish I were perfect. I wish I were more mature. I wish I had stronger trust in God and faith in Him. I wish I would have been thankful to the Lord all along. Oh, but God is so merciful. And as He grows me, He is teaching me to be thankful on an ongoing basis. Such that I no longer need to do so much looking back to see the Thanksgiving I missed in the past. Because now I am at long last learning how to be thankful – daily.

Oh, He is so merciful! Let us not neglect to be thankful to God, not ever. No matter the circumstances of our lives. Let us be thankful to the Lord. This very breath. And the next one, let us praise God. And let us be thankful to the Lord God almighty – everlastingly. Amen!