embraced by Grace

Something's been ruminating in my mind for the last few days. I thought about bringing the topic to paper (or keyboard) but I hesitated so as not to deliver a cheesy Christmas post. The theme here is being thankful, and it my thoughts have wandered to this theme several times over the last weeks, well before the Christmas season was in full swing. It probably began when Sean (my pastor at Living Hope) preached a sermon on thankfulness. It's interesting how sermons have an affect on you; it generally goes one of two ways (if it's effective). Either you are incredibly moved at the point of hearing or the sermon seems to linger, coming up at random times and the affect seems to sink in deeply yet take a it longer. The second mode is what happened when Sean's sermon collided with my head, and perhaps my heart.
I've heard probably a billion "be thankful" sermons, and honestly sometimes I can be a cynical about the whole thing. Not that I don't want to be thankful. It's just that sometimes I forget to live in the present and therefore notice everything that's not quite in place. In the last few weeks however I have really tried to be thankful for what's in front of me. To be thankful for where God has me right now, and to enjoy really how he has blessed me. It's been mostly in the small things, but I've noticed that God has been whispering thankfulness to me. I feel like I am learning to be more thankful, but it is also producing another side effect - I'm learning to be more content. And being content makes life way more enjoyable!
Emphasis on LEARNING to be content. It's still tough sometimes thinking about the future, when I graduate, what I'm going to do, etc. But, when God reminds me to have this attitude of thankfulness, I can look back on my life so far and be reminded of how God has provided, how He has met me where I am, how He has taken care of me, and how He has loved me. Then, I can rest in knowing that He will continue to do the same. Thankfulness, like everything else, seems to be a process and one that I want to continue to grow in. God, let it be...