Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. [1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT)]

I just viewed a commercial that showed an amazing family. They lost their son in the shootings at Columbine and, since that tragedy, the mother has suffered a heart attack and the father has been on dialysis. The mother spoke about taking what has been given, learning from it and becoming a better person because of it. She ended by saying, “That’s why I feel we’re blessed.” Talk about gratitude! I have no idea what was being advertised, but that ad certainly put my petty complaints into perspective. If that family can still experience gratitude, we, too, can be “thankful in all circumstances”!

Father, it’s so easy to see you in the beauty and joys of life: rainbows and flowers, healing and birth, love and laughter. Open our eyes to your presence in all aspects of life, even the ugly and sad: storms and destruction, illness and heartbreak, tears and even death. Give us the ability to see the good that can come from heartbreak and tragedy; help us count our blessings and not our pain.

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. [Colossians 2:7 (NLT)]