Every once in awhile I start having really negative outlooks on my life, and I immediately have a "Come to Jesus" session with myself. There is no reason why I should ever give in to excessive doubt and despair; I have SO MUCH.
An acquaintance of mine started a tradition on Facebook a few years ago, and has since been labeled 'The Diane Challenge." The idea is that for every day in November, you post something in your status that you are thankful for.
I've seen a lot of mixed reviews about it. Most of my friends have jumped on the bandwagon, even if they don't know Diane, and post their thankfulness every day if they are able. Some others, however, find it to be an annoyance. "Shouldn't we be thankful every day? Why does this have to be popular during Thanksgiving?"
I respect both opinions, I really do. I tend to encourage the thankful statuses, even though I myself am not participating this year (November snuck up on me and now I don't think it's worth trying to catch up).
It's not a popularity thing for me; it's about recognizing how much we really have when others live with so much less. The holiday season has been taken over by marketing; it's no longer about being thankful for your family, for the ability to travel (a lot of people in this world don't own vehicles), for the exorbitant amount of food on the table (that could feed a family in a 3rd world country for a month), and shopping the next day (Black Friday) for the excessive gifts that we don't really need. The reason for the season is Jesus Christ. He gave EVERYTHING so that we may live, and instead of blessing others we succumb to the shopping hype put on by the media and tell our children to watch for Santa.
I don't need presents. I have a mother and a father who are still alive; who love me and take care of me. I am not only going to college, but working on getting a Master's degree. I have an apartment. I have a heater and an air conditioner. I have a wooden floor with carpet. I have running hot and cold water. I have food in my refrigerator and my cupboards. I have a bed. I have shoes. I have more than one set of clothes to wear every day. I have pets. I have a TV and a computer. I have cable and internet. I have books and movies.
I HAVE TOO MUCH. How could I ask for more?
The reason for the thankfulness statuses are to help us all realize how much we really have when the media and society tells us we never have enough. If they bother you, I'm sorry. I find it spiritually humbling for me to give thanks to God for all the many blessings that I have and don't need or deserve, especially when I see the poor in my own backyard who might not remember what it's like to be warm in the winter time.
I want to learn to give back. I want to bless others, but in order to do it with a thankful and happy heart I must first understand and recognize my own blessings. This is not a glamorous topic, and I didn't have a lot of time to edit before posting, but I hope this will positively affect someone tonight.
