By Mary Ewa
There are, undoubtedly, two things an average human being struggles to do when the storms of life begin to howl, to give thanks, and to say “I’m sorry.”
When life presses us hard, when fear grips our hearts, when we are stripped of comfort, when the nights stretch longer than our faith, gratitude and humility feel almost impossible. Instead, we find ourselves wrestling with questions that have no quick answers.
What have I done? Where did I go wrong? Why is my story always filled with struggle? God, what sin could be so grave that You have turned Your face away from me?
We spiral into self-blame and sorrow, wading through waves of confusion, searching for light in the fog of our pain. And while these questions pour out of our hearts, we rarely stop to think of what might happen if we dared to do the opposite, if we could simply give thanks, even there, even then, right in the eye of the storm.
Because God does not stop being God just because we are going through hard times. He is the God of all times, of the calm and the chaos, of sunshine and shadows, of laughter and lament. His nature does not shift with our circumstances; His goodness is not seasonal. The beauty of it all is that He remains beautiful through every situation, and His light never flickers, even when ours grows dim.
So today, let’s look beyond the pain , the lack and see the purpose. Let’s thank God, not only for the deliverance we’ve received, but for the endurance He has planted within us. Let’s thank Him for every silent battle fought, for every unseen tear wiped away, for every door that closed to guide us toward a better one.
Let’s thank Him for the scars that became stories, for the wounds that birthed wisdom, for the nights that forced us to discover our own dawn. Let’s thank Him for the strength to still stand, breathe, and believe after the storms have tried to break us.
Every trial we have faced, whether social, emotional, physical, mental, psychological, spiritual, or financial, has not just tested us; it has taught us. Life remains the most honest teacher there is. It shapes our perception, widens our perspective, and refines our priorities. It molds us through the fire so that our faith is not shallow, our gratitude not fragile, our love not conditional.
When we give thanks in all things, we are not pretending that the pain doesn’t exist,we are simply acknowledging that it does not have the final say. Gratitude is not denial; it is revelation. It is the realization that grace is still present, even when glory is not visible. It is the quiet whisper that says, “I still see God, even here.”
Because in the end, thanksgiving is more than a reaction,it is a decision, a defiance against despair. It is standing in the storm and saying, “You may shake me, but you cannot sink me.”
So today, and every day, let’s choose gratitude. For through it, we do not only honor God, we remind ourselves that we are never truly lost. The storms may come, but they will not last. The winds may roar, but they will pass. And when they do, we will find that the same God who held us in the storm still reigns in the calm.
And that, perhaps, is the greatest miracle of all.
