Thankful!

"In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

I am thankful today for Nik's mother Lili. She is the heart of the Grezda family and I am humbled and amazed at how she lives her life. How easily I take loved ones for granted and I think I had been doing so because I was brought to my knees yesterday as we were told of her having had a massive heart attack. Thankfully she was taken to hospital in time and was saved. She is now in hospital for a few days and we continue to pray for a full recovery.

Over the last couple days I have been thinking about thankfulness and C.S. Lewis' intriguing perspective on happiness "It is a christian duty, as you know, for everyone to be as happy as he can." In this day and age the mind does not put duty and happiness anywhere near one-another. How can happiness be considered a task of ours? I think it is considered active work because there are so many things that come along each day that challenge our joyfulness and we have to choose to thank God for it and be happy in them. It is not that we should put our heads in the sand and not look at the things that hurt, annoy or otherwise disturb our happiness. We are asked to thank God for all things.

Lili is someone who continues to have multiple challenges in her health, family life and finances yet she is not one to complain. She could sit and list her ailments and continue to discuss them at length as some are wont to do. She could call and complain to me about family and she could complain and ask for money. She does none of this. On the contrary, she continues to build her family and home graciously, using whatever she has to edify each member. I can only believe that she actively decides to thank the Lord for everything and takes challenges and turns them into tools to glorify Him in her life and in the lives of others.

Thank you God for Lili!