Thankfulness In Hardships - Hannah Allen

My parents separated a year ago. The grief was complex and hard to articulate. Last week, I was driving past the house where I grew up. I looked from afar at first, not feeling worthy of getting close. I felt massive grief looking on the house where I’d grown up. What I would give to have another Sunday roast around that dining room table, Mum’s gravy, dad putting on his same old playlist. But I also know it wasn’t all perfect. As a family, we faced grief, mental health problems, and a whole host of other issues.

I drove away, following my old favourite running route, and asked God what he wanted to say about it. “It was a gift,” he told me. I didn’t know whether to smile at what I’d had or cry at what is gone. So I did both.

It made me suddenly aware of how much things can change - some things imperceptibly slowly, others shockingly fast. Losing what we love is painful, and the enemy is hard at work causing devastation, but if we believe that God is good and God is in control, we can find a reason to thank him (even if it takes time). So I thanked him for the memories and I thanked him for how things have changed.

Thankfulness in hardship is counter-intuitive, supernatural even, and that’s what makes it so powerful. It’s the biggest act of defiance we can throw against the enemy. Embrace thanking God in all things and see the riches for yourself. “In the midst of everything, be always giving thanks” 1 Thes 5:18