A while back I decided to be more intentional in my prayers and to reserve a day especially for giving thanks. Thankful Thursday came into being (alliteration, yay!) and almost immediately Thursday became the consistent worst day of my week.
Not Thankful Thursday, mind you—but Thursday, just Thursday itself. Early morning, busy lunch, packed afternoon, throw in a dash of stress, a pinch of sleep deprivation, and a healthy dose of introvert anxiety, and you have yourself a recipe for a pretty unenjoyable weekday. The bottom of the list, all things considered.
It seems ironic. Almost funny. I'm kneeling beside my bed at the end of the day, exhausted and in a terrible mood, listing the things I'm thankful for until I run out of ideas, feel like I've checked all the necessary boxes, and crawl into bed, half-asleep. Not exactly what I wanted Thankful Thursday to be, and definitely not my most heartfelt prayer. Why on earth is Thankful Thursday the hardest day to be thankful?
Some people would probably call it irony, but I have a more likely guess. Nothing happens for no reason. God is telling me something. Teaching me something. Proving a point.
And I am finally listening.
If being thankful was just about thanking God when everything's all sunshine and roses, then yeah, I've got that down already. Checked that box. No sweat. But what God has used Thursday to show me is that being thankful isn't always so easy. Thankfulness is a discipline, a challenge, as much as it is a blessing, because it doesn't end when the sun goes away. We're supposed to thank God for the rain.
This Thursday is going to be different. I'm going to give thanks no matter what life throws my way, because everything from God is for a reason, for the best, and for my ultimate good. Every day is a blessing, a brilliant masterpiece, and every single second is a gift.
Thursday is the day which the Lord hath made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it!