Here in the United States, we celebrate this beautiful holiday known as Thanksgiving. We gather together with our family members, friends, and loved ones to share how grateful we are: for warm homes, companionship, coffee, our health, the list goes on. The topic of thankfulness is often a theme in church services and devotionals in November, and this season appropriately serves as a period of grateful reflection.

The day after Thanksgiving, people wake up at disturbing hours of the morning to rush, trample, and attack one another to buy things. I cannot adequately write about how backwards and hypocritical this is, but will admit that I'm not proud of my fellow Americans when I see the behavior on the news and hear the stories of someone being trampled to death. It's just not right.

While the gratitude expressed on Thanksgiving is heart-warming, the behavior exhibited on Black Friday is disappointing. It reveals a darkness- a depravity of spirit and discontentment. I'm saddened by how truly "anti-thanksgiving" minded people are only one day after the joyous holiday.

I've recently been convicted of my own lack of gratitude and have developed a determination to acknowledge the many incredible ways that the Lord has chosen to shower joy and blessings on my life. I'm not talking about a daily temptation to trample people so that I can beat them to a midnight deal, but a challenge I often face is how to choose joy when there are seemingly really bad things going on around me. Even on the messy, painful, and really difficult days, there is much to be thankful for.

For example: I can easily get frustrated when things don't play out as smoothly as I would like. When I wake up and have overslept my alarm, I stumble to class and grumble on my way about how this is the "worst day ever, blah blah blah...". It takes me a little while but when I realize just how upsetting this complaining would be to someone who never had the chance to go to college or receive an education of any kind, I am instantly convicted. Why would I complain about having to wake up to go to class when I should be rejoicing in the opportunity I have been given to even attend college?

Another embarrassing example is when I get annoyed at having to walk up and down four flights of stairs to do laundry. Now, in this corner of the world in the present day, it would seem an obvious inconvenience to have to do this much physical labor to do laundry. I mean, can't we just hire people to do this stuff? What's the big deal? I can complain if it makes the task seem easier, right? Wrong. Why would I think it necessary to grumble about having to walk up and down some stairs to do laundry? I am not saying it isn't a little annoying, but I think God's growing me towards a place of recognizing that there are blessings in every challenge. In this example, I'm blessed to have clean clothes to wear and to have a place that allows for me to wash them.

These are just two of many realizations I have had regarding my misplaced attitude and my need to reevaluate where my heart lies. I know in my head that I am beyond blessed, but it can be hard to let this truth resonate in my heart and allow it to manifest into changed actions. I have found that choosing thankfulness over grumpiness and complaining is worth it. This heart change almost always leads to, and requires, an action change-- and increased joy results. There will always be things that exist with the potential to steal our contentment. Choosing to focus on the abundance of goodness in our lives is what brings us out of the misery of self-pity and into the light of thankful rejoicing.

I don't know about you, but I think one of those options sounds much better than the other.

Tonight, I am thankful for the friends God has given me since I first arrived at Houghton College five weeks ago, the fact that there were kittens in the lounge of our dorm for two whole hours this afternoon, and the simple relief I experienced after taking cold medicine last night.

God is good, and that alone is reason enough to rejoice. Just imagine even how much more light will fill your life if you choose to acknowledge the goodness He gives on top of His own presence. That's a joy that no Black Friday deal could ever beat.