Discontent, self-degradation, and defeat, versus living in gratitude

I have to listen closely to my daughter Sara in our daily conversations. She slips something important in between less weighty topics. Today she mentioned something about being offended because people make fun of her for being different: different race, different body type, different skin color. All of her friends in the school she attends in Santa Fe, New Mexico also seem to have the latest iPhones and other high tech gadgets, which she does not have.

Though these comparisons are offensive to her, she maintains an ability to amuse herself, just as she has since she was a little girl in her crib. She came to live with us when she was 16 days old, after testing positive for marijuana in the hospital, and after living in an unsafe home after being released from the hospital.

Lori Song writes here about discontent, self-degradation and defeat.

Discontent can ooze its way into much more significant places. We compare our children, or our spouses, or our jobs. We read someone’s status on Facebook and wonder why we can’t get our act together like THAT person. I hear about how someone’s young son just saved enough of his own money to build a village in Africa, and I bemoan the fact that my daughters can’t seem to make their own beds in the morning. Not only can discontent lead to great relational damage, it often throws in the added bonus of self-degradation and defeat.

Is it easy to remember to be thankful and count God's gifts of grace? Lori writes,

I am not saying this is easy, nor am I saying that we should all walk around like plastic people, smiling and saying, “Oh isn’t this great! I am so thankful for every blessing in my perfect, wonderful life.” I want to be authentically grateful. I want to acknowledge that life can be incredibly difficult and painful, but I also don’t want to be blind to the incredible gifts that are standing right in front of me every day.

As I mentioned earlier, Ann Voskamp keeps an actual list. She grabs a pen and writes down the things in her life that she may have taken for granted if she didn’t take the time to write them down. Over the last few years, I have been keeping a list too, and I believe it makes a difference. It is something that I have to keep reminding myself to do, especially on those days when someone else’s penny board seems much more incredible than the one I was given. Some days I am better at this than others, but one gift that I continue to write on my list is just the gift of a new day. A new day to start again when I screwed up the day before. A new day to begin again when I went to bed the night before feeling weary or exhausted or overwhelmed. A new day to be thankful for the gifts I already have.

What could you write on your list today?