Can we be Thankful when the world around us is broken, people are hurting one another or when we are grieving?  This reality hits many of us through the holidays. I consider thankfulness to be a discipline that keeps us centered on a reality that is beyond our circumstances. The first part of prayer or lament when we have concerns or wounds is to thank and recognize God for His goodness.  The Psalms are an example of this. 

When our world and our news is feeding us stories of terror and injustice and division, we need to even more spend time in thanks and recognition of the blessings we have.  That difficult verse- Give thanks in all things, 1 Thessalonians 5:18  applies here.  What we see is not all that there is. God's goodness is at work somewhere that we are not seeing. And often it is at work right around us and we have failed to notice.

Make time to be thankful!