Thank You

Thank you, God, that I am not that homeless man, standing with a hand-written, cardboard sign, “will work for food.”

Thank you, God, that I am not that foster child living with strangers, wishing to return to their broken but familiar family.

Thank you, God, that I am not that handicapped lady I see driving aimlessly through town in her motorized wheelchair, confused and lonely.

Thank you, God, that I am not that druggy, eyes glazed, unable to rest, a soul tormented by addiction.

Thank you, God, that my family has not been torn apart like those from Mexico.

Thank you, God, that I am not a refugee, unwanted by the entire world.

Thank you, God, that I am not that young girl who deals with depression, who can’t sleep at night.

Thank you, God, that I am not that mother in Africa who lost a child, again.

Thank you, God, that I have not been abused or neglected.

Thank you, God, that my life is good.

But what happens when life isn’t good? Nights of tears and days of stress. Living on the street, just trying to survive. Working long hours just to make enough money to pay for food for your children. Hounded by a craving your body won’t release. Longing for a home, a country to claim you. Wishing for someone to love you. What happens when everything in my comfortable American life is stripped away? Will I still be thankful? Is my thankfulness based on my selfishness and dependent upon my circumstances? Or is it contingent on the unchanging goodness of God, that no matter where I am or what happens to me, God is good. He knows. And though all the world crashes in around me, and, confused, I cry as I huddle in the cold, I can be thankful because He is God. Will I be thankful then?