Beauty In The Valley
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
When my family celebrated Thanksgiving Day growing up, we had what we called the tablecloth tradition. My mom would pick a shape related to the holiday (let’s use a pumpkin for the sake of the example) and she would stamp a pumpkin on the tablecloth for each person that attended our Thanksgiving feast. So if we had 12 people show up, there would be 12 pumpkins stamped on the tablecloth.
From there, each person in attendance would take a sharpie and write on their pumpkin at least one thing they’re thankful for that happened that year. No generic answers like “Family, friends, and good health” were allowed. We each had to point to something that happened during the current year that we were grateful for and write it on the tablecloth.
This was easily one of my favorite holiday traditions. I always looked forward to it. But over the years of doing this tradition, there were a couple of times when I found myself saying, “This year has been pretty rough…what in the world am I going to write on the tablecloth this year?”
Maybe you’d have that thought too if I were to ask you to join in on our tablecloth tradition this year. Maybe this has been a tough year for you, and it’s tough to think about the good things because there seem to be too many bad things that happened this year.
But even if that’s the case for you, that doesn’t mean we have nothing to be thankful for. Just because the struggles are at the forefront of our minds doesn’t mean that’s all there is.
Gratitude is all about perspective. Are we willing to widen our gaze to see what unexpected blessings came along this year? Or are we going to remain focused on the disappointment and unmet expectations? Are we willing to dig a little deeper to identify all that we can to thank the Lord for? Or are we going to hold onto our surface perspective, zoning in on what we wish didn’t happen this year?
We need to take the time to answer these questions if we’re going to be able to find gratitude in the midst of circumstances where gratitude is hard to find. What distinguishes us as followers of Jesus is our willingness to look for good in the bad, to look for peace in the unrest, to look for joy in the discouragement, and to look for hope in the disappointment. Anyone can find joy, peace, and hope when life is going well. But it’s finding those things when life doesn’t look the way you thought it would that makes the difference. It’s what makes you different.
I’m going to leave you with some encouragement from my friend, Madison. I remember reading these words on her Instagram, and I wrote them in my journal so I wouldn’t forget them. Her words, I believe, are exactly what we need as we walk through the valleys of life.
It’s easy to look back at picture-perfect memories and forget that, even in the best seasons of life, we couldn’t see around the next bend in the road. It’s easy to celebrate when we know the outcome, but different to trust that everything is going to be okay when we aren’t given an aerial view of life. When things beyond our control steal our peace and break our hearts, we can rest knowing that our stories are still held in His hands. The view from the mountaintop is great. But the valley can be beautiful too.