Changing "I'm Fine" to "I'm Thankful"

 "I'm fine."

It's the automatic response, it seems, when someone issues the familiar greeting, "How are you?"

"I'm fine."

We say it whether we really mean it - or we don't. It's the socially acceptable way to respond. We may be clinging onto life as tenaciously as an icicle after the sun comes out, but, by golly, we're "fine."

A recent email devotional from The Upper Room challenged me to think about a new response.

It's "fine" to be "fine." That's certainly better than giving a Top 10 list of all the ways I'm not fine. But how would life change if I followed the author's cue and instead responded, "I'm thankful!" 

He says that his "I'm thankful" response often elicits a conversation starter when the questioner probes, "Why are you thankful?" But even if it doesn't evolve into anything more than a pleasant response, it just might remind me to BE more thankful.

Let's get real though. Some days, it's a lot tougher to be thankful. Sometimes, the day and life circumstances make you feel heavier than ice on trees during a spring ice storm. It's all you can do not to break.

But we're still supposed to be thankful, instructions we're given all throughout the Bible, including
Psalm 105:  

Psalm 105

¹ Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations what he has done.
² Sing to him, sing praise to him;
    tell of all his wonderful acts.
³ Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
⁴ Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face always.

⁵ Remember the wonders he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
⁶ you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,
    his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

Sometimes, in my efforts to find the silver lining, I search and search and search - kind of like an old-fashioned scavenger hunt. It's tough to find the silver lining in a storm.

We're still awaiting the verdict of the effects of last week's ice storm on the 2013 wheat crop. Time will tell.

It's often easier to see the worries ... the slights ... the disappointments ... life's everyday "stuff" that weighs me down ... than it is to see the things for which I am thankful. 

It's sometimes tough to find the sparkle ...

... until the sun comes out.

Then it reminds me, I should be seeking the Son all the time.

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I wrote a modified version of this post for Lovely Branches Ministries' April theme, "April Gladness." Click here to see it. And, while you're there, check out blogs by my friends, Keva, who writes about conquering her fear of the espresso machine at the new Taste and See Coffee House in Stafford, and Suzanne, who gives you some great gardening tips. (You know you won't be getting gardening tips from me!)

If you're near Stafford, check out the Taste and See Coffee House at 111 West Broadway. Click here for the hours.  The Grand Opening event is next Saturday, April 20, from 7 AM to 9 PM, with tasty treats and live music. You can also "like" Taste and See Coffee House on Facebook for info on special treats and special events.

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I'm also linked to Michelle DeRusha's weekly faith feature, Hear It On Sunday, Use It On Monday and Jennifer Dukes Lee's Tell His Story. Check out what other bloggers of faith are talking about this week.