Thankfulness

"Brothers and sisters: Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

This was part of the second reading that was read this past Sunday. It got me thinking about prayer and being thankful.

I would like to talk a little bit on thankfulness. It is so easy for us to be thankful for the things that we want, and desire for ourselves. If we get a lead part in a play, we thank God for it. If we are blessed with an amazing friendship, we thank God for it. The list goes on.

But how many of us are thankful for the less obvious things, or even more, the things that we wish didn't happen? A loved one dies, we get into a car accident, we can't find a job, that list goes on as well. How often are we thankful for those things? How often are we to get upset when things doing go the way that we plan. It seems to me that some of the things that most of the time, the things that we think are the most awful things in the world, are some the most wonderful blessings, although I also think that we spend so much time being upset about things that we don't always see the real blessing behind it.

So many times we learn so much more from the things that God gives us that we get upset by, then by the things that make us happy. I am beginning to realize how selfish I must be to not give thanks to God for everything in my life, the good and the bad. God wants to give me the best thing possible for my life, but I so often get upset when I don't get what I want. God's trying to give me so many gifts, but so many times I am so ungrateful and don't accept them as I should.

What is stopping us from rejoicing always and giving thanks under every circumstance?