We get to decide

Today we pick out one 24 hour period to be thankful.

Seems so small, doesn't it?

I met with four persons yesterday at an asssisted living home and we talked about being thankful, about fighting depression by being thankful, about simply praising God as an avenue out of the pit of loneliness.

When I finished, one got on to me for leaving so quickly.

This notion of being thankful is directly proportional to how we see the circumstances in our life.

If we view them darkly, as Paul says we see through a clouded glass, we will be less thankful than if we view them as being good. Seems clear. It often isn't.

The Bible says of being thankful: "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."

No matter how much we try, we don't decide or help or correct or make our own circumstances. They are what they are, sometimes decided by whim and sometimes by God himself. But we do have control over how we react to our circumstances. We can be thankful. We can not. Praise? We decide. Admonish? We decide. Thank? We decide.

Get the picture? Today of all days?