Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
My goodness, here we are finished with the first month of 2024. Needless to say, I am running a little behind on posting this. This month has just disappeared it seems within a few days of us celebrating the new year. To others it may seem like it has been the longest month ever. I do find the months of January, February, and March to be some of the most challenging when it comes to mental health. I don’t know about where you live, but here, the holidays come to a close in December, so we greet January already somewhat exhausted. The next couple of months the weather seems to lean more on the gloomy side with dark, gray skies. Temps here are cold so I spend more time indoors than I prefer. I don’t know if anyone else struggles with the lack of sunshine, but it is a real challenge of mine. My mood starts to mimic the sky. It seems like negativity just looms like the gray clouds. I crave sunshine. I need it.
Awhile back we had a few days of intense rainfall and there was one day when it was suppose to come to a stop and I actually included in my morning prayer to be able see the sunshine that day. I didn’t care if it was only for a minute, I just needed to see it. It may sound silly, but my prayer was answered that day. I was pulling into my work and the sun’s rays came beaming through the clouds. I stopped my car and got out to snap a picture. It sure did put a smile on my face and I was so THANKFUL! It is amazing how seeing and feeling the sun can just be a big energy boost physically and mentally. At my work, I am blessed to have several big windows out in front of where I spend most of my time. There are days, when I see the sun peeking out of the clouds, that I will go and just stand by those windows with my eyes closed soaking up all that I can. I chuckle when I do this because it makes me feel like a potted plant just basking in the sun.
The past few years I have chosen to pray and think about a word to focus on for the current year. Do you participate in this as well? Here are some of my previous words I have felt impressed on my heart: Perseverance, Surrender, Hope, and for 2024 I chose Thankful.
As many of you know, four days into this year my dad was scheduled for open heart surgery. We had so many lifting prayers up on his behalf and for the surgeon and nurses too. I can gladly report that his surgery went great! No complications. He spent a week in the hospital and the nurses who took care of him were amazing and kept bragging on how well he was doing. We are 3-4 weeks out now in recovery and overall things have been smooth. I give God the glory for all of it. That is actually how the word thankful came upon my mind for this year. I was sitting in the ICU waiting room just pondering different things and it was like boom – THANKFUL, that is where your focus needs to be. This is an area in my life that I need to improve on. I can sometimes get into the mindset of complaining about this or grumbling about that, and guess what? It gets me absolutely no where. That kind of attitude will only leave you stuck in your negative thoughts.
As I was sitting in that waiting room, I wondered the impact it would have on my life if I could truly focus on being more thankful and showing gratitude for ALL things in my life. Every day. Not just when it is smooth sailing either, but when the seas get rough and bumpy. That may sound easy to you, but I know it will be no easy feat to accomplish. Life gets in the way. It seems like we have way more distractions now than ever. I know it will take being intentional in directing my thoughts and that can be challenging on most days. Some days I feel pulled in so many directions that I just don’t know my east from my west. I feel like I am running around in circles, getting no where. There are times when my heart is so heavy with burdens for my loved ones that I just don’t know what to do next so I just pray. But I know that sometimes my prayers match my thoughts and they are like a bunch of scribbling lines making no sense. Have you ever felt that way? What do you do? For me, I just keep moving forward the best I can. Little steps. Reminding myself what God has promised in his word to those who choose to believe on him. He loves us. He is for us. He has done so much more for us than our little minds can comprehend. He is faithful even when I am not. That is what makes it that more special to me. I have given him a million reasons to not love me, but yet he does and he continues to show me that. And so, I am THANKFUL.
Take a moment and think of a ladder. Now at the bottom of that ladder is a place of disappointment, worry, fear, and despair. At the top of the ladder is a place of joy, peace, and contentment. The steps of the ladder are gratitude, thankfulness, grace, and praise. To get from the bottom to the top, be intentional on practicing these steps in your daily walk. It may surprise you how much it can help your mindset. Of course it is easy to say this, harder to actually put it into action.
I would love to hear what word you have chosen for 2024.
Keep moving forward,
Hayley W
Unpolished & Imperfect 