Gratitude's Fresh Eyes

 Because it is November, the month allotted for Thanksgiving in the United States, I have been thinking about gratitude. In some sense, it's a rather simple virtue to follow--look at what you have, and give thanks for it--but I have been realizing that it can go much MUCH deeper. aka more complicated.

It is possible for me to be grateful for what I have, but still want more; therefore, I am not exactly content with what God gave me. 

For example, I like the apartment we live in, but am often longing for a house big enough to allow for needing less under-bed storage and thus the chance to get the bedframe off of the cement blocks it's been sitting on for 4 years. This seems a small request, but I suspect that as far as humans and material stuff go, we are rather like the camel that only wants his nose out of the storm, but then slowly takes over the whole tent. In a pre-COVID era a year or so ago, I was at someone's house with lots of other women, and was slightly (okay, very) envious of the size of the rooms and quality of the furnishings; yet I overhead the host of the gathering saying "I just want a driveway!! That's all!" Was she wrong in wanting things different? Am I wrong in wanting things different? Would I even be satisfied with a bigger home, or would I keep wanting more? 

That's a firm maybe.

There was a picture book I read as a child that I've thought about often. I think it was one of those books that teaches virtues through stories, because as I remember it, the plot was basically: Look around and think about what could be in your neighborhood or house or, in this case, kingdom,...and then make it so. In other words, have the faith to see how things could be better, and then make it happen. Which, by the way, is difficult. I can go to my parents' home and see small improvement projects that I happily do, but when I look around my own home, I often lack the vision to see what can be in view of what is. Why am I talking about this in a post about gratitude? Because part of the trick of appreciating what you have is seeing what you have. Example: there's a song by Andy Grammer where he says he falls in love with his girlfriend all over when he sees her dressed up, and compares it to the first time opening the door to your home "before we got used to usual." A fresh set of eyes to see what we already have.

Yes, God wants us to be content with what we have.

But yes, he also wants us to ask for the things we need.

And yes, we should thank him for what he gives us.

But yes, he wants us to have faith that things can be better.

If you're getting confused, don't worry, I'm right there with you. That's why I'm writing this post. I'm trying to figure out how to balance faith and contentment and gratitude. I don't think I'll figure it out in one post, though. I think this is something that will take everyone a lifetime to understand. In the meantime, I'm gonna bet that it is never a bad idea to try to make things better for other people. So now that we've mass-practiced gratitude, let's start working on all-encompassing goodwill toward men.