Happy Thankful Thursday!

Good Morning!  Welcome to Thankful Thursday.  I have been so terribly busy with life in general that I find myself 'forgetting' to be thankful sometimes.  We all have so much to be thankful for but so often we don't take the time to think about our blessings.  Our blessings may not always be in the form of sunshine and roses, but they are there and we need to acknowledge them. 

Laura Story has a song out titled Blessings.  Have you ever taken time to listen to the lyrics of this song?  It is an amazing song.  It makes me think.  The words to the chorus are:

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?

And what if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise

There are times when our blessings come in forms other than what we'd like.  Garth Brooks has a song, Unanswered Prayers, that is truly makes me think when it comes to the prayers we pray and the answers we get from God.  



Just the other night at a hometown football game
My wife and I ran into my old high school flame
And as I introduced them the past came back to me
And I couldn't help but think of the way things used to be

She was the one that I'd wanted for all times
And each night I'd spend prayin' that God would make her mine
And if he'd only grant me this wish I wished back then
I'd never ask for anything again

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs
That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

She wasn't quite the angel that I remembered in my dreams
And I could tell that time had changed me
In her eyes too it seemed
We tried to talk about the old days
There wasn't much we could recall
I guess the Lord knows what He's doin' after all

And as she walked away and I looked at my wife
And then and there I thanked the good Lord
For the gifts in my life

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the Man upstairs
That just because He may not answer doesn't mean He don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

Some of God's greatest gifts are all too often unanswered...
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

Think about that.  How many times in your life have you prayed for God to answer a prayer in a certain way only to have Him NOT give you the answer you'd hoped for?  I know in my own life this has happened several times.  Eventually God will let me see 'why' He answered the way He did rather than the way I wanted Him to answer.  It's at times like that that I can honestly say I do thank Him for unanswered prayers!

So, if your blessings don't come to you like you'd like them to...if they come in the form of tears or unanswered prayers...THANK God that He answers our prayers like He sees fit.  We must remember that He sees the bigger picture...we only see a small piece of the puzzle.  God is all-knowing and all-seeing.  He, and He alone, knows what is best for us.  Even when we think we know what is best for us, God is the only One that truly knows.

Have a blessed day and take a few minutes to count your blessings and be thankful for each and every one of them!!