Are You Thankful?

We struggled up the last hill, staggering under the weight of our packs. As we crested that hill, we saw it. Our goal. The point that we had been walking toward for the past week in the wilds of the Black Hills of South Dakota. What was this oasis we had longed for in the midst of a desert of rocks and pine?

A pit toilet.

A pit toilet on the edge of a gravel track that served as a parking spot.

We sank down and shrugged off our packs. And then we all waited our turn to gratefully use a toilet we didn’t have to dig with a shovel.

Funny, isn’t it, the things we are thankful for when we haven’t had them for a while? We breathed sighs and prayers of relief and thankfulness. Circumstances change our perspective. Perhaps you wouldn’t be excited about seeing a pit toilet, much less using one, but we were ecstatic.

I imagine those of us who don’t have to worry about toilet paper right now, in the midst of a crazy shortage in stores thanks to coronavirus-incited panic buying, are pretty thankful for that.

Jesus had an experience worth noting when he healed ten lepers on the border of Galilee and Samaria. The ten lepers approached him, but only close enough to call out their request for healing. Jesus looked at them closely, then advised them to show themselves to the priest. His command may seem callous at first glance, but a priest was the only one who could declare a leper clean.

As the ten men walked away from Jesus, they experienced healing. Miraculous healing. But only one of the ten returned to thank him. “Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?’” (Luke 17:17 NIV)

All ten lepers were healed. And just like the other nine lepers who continued on with their lives, it is possible to receive wonderful gifts from God yet still have an ungrateful heart. We can walk through days and even a whole life not knowing the giver of all good gifts.

Jesus told the one man who returned to thank and praise him, “Rise and go. Your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:18 NIV). This man was the only one who learned that his faith played a role in his healing. He was the only one who learned that God’s grace extended to him, even though he was a foreigner and an outcast. He was the only one who grew in his faith.

The truth is that our God does not demand our thanks. But he is pleased when we are grateful. God uses that response to teach us more about himself, to draw us closer to him. We learn more of his character, more of his grace, more of his love–for us and others.

This may be a hard season of your life, one you never imagined you would find yourself stuck in. But you don’t have to wait for miraculous healing to be thankful. There are amazing gifts surrounding us every day.

Albert Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” This was true for a theoretical physicist in the first half of the twentieth century, and it is true in your life today.

At family gatherings, when we go around the table and ask each other, “What three things are you thankful for?” I often reply with, “A toilet I didn’t have to dig myself.” Those who don’t know my history of hiking and other outdoor activities find this either hilarious or odd. But I am. Every day I am thankful for indoor plumbing and septic systems.

In 2012, I read a marvelous book by Ann Voskamp that changed my perspective on gratitude. One Thousand Gifts challenged me to find things–no, miracles–to be thankful for every day. I started chronicling my gifts in a small notebook, numbering each one.

At the time, I had three kids under the age of four, I was working part-time for a nonprofit as an executive director and grant writer, and I was enrolled in a two-year statewide leadership development program. Life was busy. Wait—who am I kidding? Life was crazy! I felt like I was running on an ever faster treadmill. I did not have time to be grateful for ten things, much less one thousand, when I had dirty diapers, laundry, grant deadlines, and three-day seminars.

But Ann’s words spoke to my soul. Her gentle encouragement to slow down, to look around, to see all I can thank God for was the balm my busy schedule needed. I kept writing them down, day after day. Some of my entries were:

487. The long walk to my mailbox

612. My dishwasher

703. My daughter’s first word: “Mom”

What if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you thanked God for today? It might be pretty bare bones. Just typing those words prompted me to instantly thank God for my computer, the lunch I just finished, legal pads, and my favorite pens.

Look around you right now. What can you be thankful for? Windows to let in sunlight or a chair to rest in? A cup of coffee or a glass of iced tea?

Like the leper who returned, God draws us near to him when we are grateful. We grow in our faith and our understanding of his love for us.

Find a notebook. I know you’ve got some cute ones you couldn’t resist buying and which are sitting around unused. Open one up, grab a pen, and get closer to God.

Annie Carlson is rooted like a turnip to the plains of North Dakota where she raises great food, large numbers of farm animals, and three free-range kids with her husband. You can find her with either a book or knitting needles in her hands as she dreams up her next adventure.

Photograph © Freshh Connection, used with permission