Thankfulness (again!)

Thankfulness is always a good thing, even when times are hard. Sometimes, thought, it's a bitter pill.

• Loved ones deal with cancer; we deal with the possibility of losing them.
  
• We miss loved ones that have been gone for years.
  
• We deal with serious medical issues.
  
• We deal with strained or broken relationships.
  
• Some of us deal with the fact that others are angry with us, don't trust us, or plain don't like us!
  
• We deal with three or more of the above!
  

I am personally dealing with the stress of preparing for a major trip for 33 people - with its financial, safety, personal and spiritual dimensions. Oh, did I mention, musical dimensions?
Still, thankfulness is a remedy for me - when I can get there. The psalmist writes in Psalm 116:

I love GOD because he listened to me, listened as I begged for mercy. He listened so intently as I laid out my case before him. Death stared me in the face, hell was hard on my heels. Up against it, I didn't know which way to turn; then I called out to GOD for help: “Please, GOD!” I cried out. “Save my life!” GOD is gracious-it is he who makes things right, our most compassionate God. GOD takes the side of the helpless; when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me.
I said to myself, “Relax and rest. GOD has showered you with blessings. Soul, you've been rescued from death; Eye, you've been rescued from tears; And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling.”

The title of the Psalm is “Thanksgiving for recovery from illness.”
In the morning, after a difficult sleep, thank God for the sleep that you did get (had one of those two nights ago). Thank God for the friends you do have.
And, my favorite: when you sit up in bed in the morning and your feet touch the floor, say, “Oh, my God! Thank you for another day of life!”
The thankful heart is a heart that is close to the Mind of the Creator.