Thanksgiving -- It IS a choice!

I have been in a funk lately.

I know that this is not the first time I have blogged about this, but I think that when you are normally a cheerful and optimistic person like I am, being in a funk feels kind of unsettling.

I told Jeremy that I "just don't feel like myself."

He helped out a lot by asking me "So, who DO you feel like?"  Ha, ha.

Sometimes I think I am a tough chick who can kind of deal with the stresses of life and can work through things that are bothering me in a healthy way, but then it seems like eventually my body catches up with whatever is going on in my mind and I find myself just feeling "blah" and drained.

Jeremy and I were talking about this the other night and I asked him what he thinks the secret is to getting out of a funk.

He said that for himself, he needs to slow down enough to consciously count his blessings and be intentional in being thankful.

I thought that was really good advice.

The next day I wrote this in my journal...

"I have been in a funk lately and I am not sure why.  I feel like my life is one huge cycle of cooking and cleaning and breaking up fights, etc.  I feel like I have lost the joy somewhere along the way and I am not exactly sure how to get it back.  What is the secret?  Thankfulness?  But how do you let thankfulness really sink into your soul and adjust your attitude?"

I think that is the million dollar question.

I decided to keep a list, just for that day, of things that I can choose to be thankful for.

Without any serious brain wracking, I came up with a list of 40 things that I could be thankful for...just on that day.

I prayed about it.  I felt my soul being to breathe a little more.  I felt a tiny bit of hope and like my life was more delight than drudgery.  But it didn't really take away the over-all feeling that I have been experiencing for the past 2 weeks.

I try to remember that "Eucharisteo always precedes the miracle" (something that I have learned by way of Ann Voskamp's "1000 Gifts" book).  This has proven to be true in my life again and again.

Choosing to be thankful (and it IS a choice) brings about change.  More often than not, the change is internal, not external.

I just realized (as I was writing this post) that after I had been intentional and done this list the other day and prayed about the funk I have been in...

...yesterday I got some clarity (through a series of events) as to why I have been feeling this way.  And that is huge for me.

It doesn't solve the issue(s) I am dealing with, but at least I can put a finger on what it is that is draining me and making me feel in a funk and I can proceed from there...with more prayers and more thanksgiving and with talking it through.

Just when I was thinking that God was kind of leaving me hanging and not helping me to figure out what was going on in my heart...He reveals Himself in a way that I didn't expect.

When will I learn to quit looking for God to show Himself within the box that I expected to see Him in and start asking Him to just open my eyes to see Him in whatever way He chooses to reveal Himself??

I feel better today.

He never promised that life would be easy...He only promised that He would give us strength for the day and grace to make it through.

And that is ALWAYS enough.

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