Vicki Keiser, Church Council, Stephen’s Ministry 

Ecclesiastes 6:1-2 (NIV)
I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: 2 God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.

Reflection:
You know the person who seemingly has it all—success, wealth, health—but they are not happy? As a matter of fact, they even may seem to be disgruntled most of the time.  Nothing seems to be enough for them as they are always wanting more and so they cannot even enjoy what they have. They may struggle to see a way to share what they have with others or use what they have to help others. Then you see another and they seem happy and able to enjoy what they have. So why would this be? The latter is content with what they have and is grateful for what they have. Their contentment and gratefulness allows for their enjoyment. They are glad to share what they have with others and use what they have to help others.

I was watching the winter Olympics when the story about a gifted American freestyle skier by the name of Colby Stephenson was shared; Colby had a very serious car accident in May 2016. His truck rolled multiple times and skull was broken in 30 places and he was placed in an induced coma. He spent a very long and arduous 6 months recovering from the accident; he was fortunate that he was even alive and, amazingly, able to ski again. As he recovered, his attitude shifted from his prior relentless focus of success to having gratitude for each day and just enjoying being able to ski. Just six months after his accident, in January 2017, Colby won a World Cup. Then in February 2022 Colby won a silver medal at the winter Olympics. While these achievements are outstanding, first and foremost Colby is content to continue to be truly grateful for each day and in his contentment he has experienced real joy in his skiing and life. 

Sometimes our circumstances thrust us into places where it would be easy to focus on everything that is wrong in our lives. God does not ask us to neglect or ignore our pain, but God does invite us, even in the midst of difficult situations, to express gratitude as a way to experience joy. I know I am striving to be grateful for each day with the blessings God has given me so contentment and joy will be mine.

Prayer
Dear Lord,
Please help me to always be grateful for the many blessings you grant me each day.  Let my heart be content with these blessings so in this contentment I can experience true joy. I pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.