Thankfulness

It's November. Which means men decide to not shave their face for a whole month (it's called no-shave november Grandma). people on Facebook start their '30 days of thankfulness'. We have 'fallen back' an hour, but our daughter has not (hence the early morning blog).  Halloween has come and gone, but the candy is still lurking. case and point below. 

she pulled the bucket off the counter, found a sucker and got to work. 

To me, November represents thankfulness. It's the month of Thanksgiving. and while I enjoy ( to an extent) the 31 days of thankfulness, I think it should be more than just 31 days one month of the year. 
My dad told me a story about the day the boy came to the house to give the news that his brother Henry had died in war. He was a pilot in Vietnam so they had someone come to the house. He said they were sitting at the table for lunch when the man showed up to tell them. His dad, my grandpa JC, came back to the table. No one was sure what he would say. But he did this : He prayed. and you know what he prayed? " Thank you God." because he didn't understand why this happened. but he knew God did. and he knew in any circumstance, no matter how gut wrenching hard, he should thank God. and know that it is happening for a reason. 
In the book "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom, Betsie makes Corrie quote scripture, specifically on giving thanks in all circumstances. She has her give thanks for the things in her new barrack in the concentration camps. Corrie looks around and thinks 'what is there to give thanks for?!". but they find things; being there together, having their Bible, and even the fleas.  "Give thanks in all circumstances", Betsie quoted. "It doesn't say, 'in pleasant circumstances.' Fleas are part of this place where God has put us." And so we stood between tiers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. Little did the two girls know, that those fleas kept the Nazis out of their barracks that day. They refused to set foot in their barracks because they were so infested. This allowed God's Word to be shared. for Corrie to survive the horrible Holocaust. but who could have known at the time that something so foul, such as fleas, would save her life? 
I think of both of these stories so often. When things are hard. when things happen that I don't understand. But there are times when I don't have to understand. When all I have to do is know that God Is. When I can't wrap my head around the difficult questions and situations, all I really have to do it let my Father wrap His arms around me. and Thank Him. 

16-18 Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

1 Thessalonians 5:18The Message (MSG)