An Attitude of Gratitude

The very last thing most of us want to do when we feel discouraged is to develop an attitude of gratitude. Being thankful during a difficult time ranks on the list of preferred activities right down there with garage cleaning and getting up at 5:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning. Yet, as my mother used to say, "Every dark cloud has a silver lining."

One evening I taught a Bible study class at a jail. A young woman in the class had an extremely painful medical condition. She held her hand over her face and put her head down on the table in front of her. The constant pain was wearing her out. We quickly turned to the Book of Job. We read about the devil appearing before God. The ancient liar believed that Job would curse God after being afflicted with suffering. God allowed the devil to take away Job's sons and daughters and all his possessions. Job stubbornly refused to curse God. He declared, "Naked I came into this world and naked I will leave it." Then God allowed the devil to torment Job with a terrible skin disease. Job's friends claimed that he must have done something really, really bad to have deserved so much suffering. Even his wife was against him. Still Job would not give in. "The Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away," Job said. In the end, of course, Job was abundantly rewarded for his faithfulness.

The young woman had started to blame God for her miseries, but when she saw what she was doing, she quickly denied it. Another student described her own dreadful brokenness during her first month of incarceration. She told us that when she realized that the jail sentence had halted her life of crime, she began to thank God for being in jail. As the afflicted woman listened, she sat straighter.

Then we discussed the temporary nature of everything in this life. Material things grow and change, like the weather. Only the spiritual realities endure forever. The afflicted one sat a little straighter. During the three days of His passion and death on the cross, Jesus suffered for us more than any human person could ever suffer. When we undergo trials we walk up Calvary Hill with Jesus and become closer to Him. The young woman took her hand away from her face.

I repeated a theme I'd often taught to this group of distraught women. We are God's tiny children. He lets us fall down sometimes so that we can learn. When God does let us fall, though, He always draws a greater good out of it, just as He drew a greater good from the condemnation, passion, and death of His most innocent Son on the morning of the Resurrection. God allowed death so that Death itself would be conquered. The facial expression of the woman in pain softened. We sang "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know" and prayed fervently for this young person. Then the women walked back to their cell blocks.

When we have a sense that our suffering can't last forever and that our pain has a purpose that carries far beyond the present moment, gratitude becomes possible. I don't know whether or not the young woman's pain was any less at the end of the class than at the beginning, but I do know that she looked a lot better. I also don't know what reward she'll reap for faithfulness in her time of trial, but I do know that the reward will satisfy her heart's desire. Conversion to a new life of freedom and joy, perhaps? I hope so.

Mary Sue Laing, M.Ed.
Resource Teacher, St. Ambrose School
newskill7@msn.com

by Mary Sue Laing, M. Ed., New Skill, Inc. Academic Tutor