May Peace Abound

I came across an email the other day that asked, "What if you woke up tomorrow and all you had were the things you thanked God for today?"  Can you imagine?  What would you wake up with tomorrow?  Sure, sometimes we get busy and forget to stop and express our gratitude for all the good things in our lives.  Does it really have to be that hard?

Lately, I can't seem to fall asleep (or stay asleep, for that matter).  I turn my fan on (white noise) before going to bed, I open my window... I even slapped a featherbed on my mattress.  Nothing seems to help.  I know they say to count sheep, but come on-- who actually does that?  I tried it once--ONCE-- and I felt ridiculous. 

So I tried something else.  I started to list the things I'm thankful for.  It's really seemed to make a difference.  Especially the last few weeks.  There are actually days where I feel (very wrongly, might I add) like I don't have much to be thankful for. 

It's so easy to throw yourself a pity-party, isn't it?  Perhaps you're unhappy with your job or love life.  Perhaps you come home every day to another bill in the mail.  Maybe you got a run in your nylons 10 minutes after arriving to work.  Maybe your dog or child JUST WON'T CALM DOWN.  It's easy to become overwhelmed by little things like these. They can pile up and before you know it, these burdens become all you can think about.  You lose sleep, you lose your days and nights, and you begin to lose yourself. 

So I've started praying and listing all the things I'm thankful for every night as I lay in bed, waiting for the sweet refuge of sleep to take over.  I thank God every night for the very important things in my life... the things that I know I couldn't live without tomorrow.  I also ask for peace.  In our unpredictable world, it seems impossible to just "go with the flow" in every circumstance.  Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that make it hard to be thankful, to just grin and bear it.  Pray for peace.  It will help, I promise.  When you find yourself in a poor situation that's beyond your control, ask for peace.  For uncertainty about the future, ask for peace.  If you're drowning in resentment toward someone who's wronged you, ask for peace. 
When all else fails, nothing seems to be going your way, and any rest seems impossible: count your blessings, be thankful for what you have, and ask for peace.  You'll notice a difference when you wake up.