Thankful Thursday, Life's Challenges.

As many of you know this has been a challenging year for me. There have been financial challenges, physical challenges, mental challenges and so many others. Through it all I have somehow managed to keep my head above water. Life would be pretty boring without challenges and I would be pretty weak too. But it is Thankful Thursday and like all things in life, Challenges are a gift from God. “Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow.” Not just the “good” ones.

I know everyone has heard the expression; What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Well that’s not exactly correct. The statement should really be; Every challenge you rise above makes you stronger. Just because you are faced with a challenge in life doesn’t make you stronger. You really have three options when you are faced with a challenge. You can avoid it. You can go around it. Or you can face it head on. It’s only when you face that challenge and rise above that you become a better person. So here is my thankful list for this week.

1. I am thankful for all those irritating people who I have to interact with on a daily basis. I am sorry you hate life so much that you feel the need to try and bring everyone around you down to your level but it isn’t working on me. I refuse to lower myself to your level. Come join me in the living world. Your constant complaining is only making me stronger in my commitment to make this world a better place to live. Thank you God for the difficult people in my life.

2. I am thankful for the monetary setbacks that I have had this year. Even though it has been an expensive year for me, I have managed to make ends meet. And living with less is a good thing. God has given me the ability to fix things myself and had I had extra money I might have just let someone else do the work instead of doing it myself. I always feel good when I accomplish difficult tasks. Thank you God for showing me that sometimes less is more.

3. I am thankful for my aching muscles today. We had another awesome spin class last night. I have to admit that I was sweating like a pig by the end of the workout. I made sure there was plenty of room between me and anyone else when we were doing the post spin stretching. It occurred to me that I am the oldest person in the Wednesday night spin class and I may be inspiring some others to stay with it. Thank you God for allowing me to inspire others.

4. I am thankful for this cooler weather. Doesn’t it feel great? Of course this presents another challenge. My greenhouse isn’t ready for the cold weather. In the summer we take the plastic off to let the heat out. This cooler weather came on us rather suddenly. Now I have to scramble to get the plastic back up before the temperature gets too low. I know what I will be doing tonight after work. But at least it will be cool while I work. Thank you God for reminding me to always be prepared. “He will come like a thief in the night without warning.”

5. I am thankful for another great day full of challenges. It will be another chance for me to rise above the crowd and get one step closer to where I want to be. God grant me the courage to face these challenges head on and the strength to rise above. Thank you God for thinking enough of me to challenge me daily. Thank you for these and all your blessings.

Have a great day,
Greg