How to Find Gems in the Junk

“Be Joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thes 5:16-18)

“Enjoy your circumstances” popped up on the screen of my phone. I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes as I deliberately exhaled the mounting tension between my shoulder blades and the irritation threatening to overtake my attitude.

I was trying to get home from a conference and was flying stand-by. The flights were all oversold and as the airline bought people off one flight to book them on a later flight, available seats for every subsequent flight vaporized. These circumstances were ripe for a meltdown as the frustration of getting left behind escalated.

The reminder to enjoy my circumstances was not an admonishment to be glad I was stuck at the airport. Rather, encouragement to be joyful despite my circumstances.

Tucked in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, are instructions to practice finding the gem amidst the junk of life. He does not say that we need to be thankful for the junk, but that we must be joyful in the junk. Praying up gems of thankfulness is how we become joyful because our focus shifts from our circumstances to our Provider.

Minor irritations in life happen all the time and are a training ground for when life’s hard crises strike. We must seize the opportunities to practice mining the thankful gems when the stakes are not high so that we will instinctively seek them when relationships struggle, illness invades, or job loss threatens.

Our natural response to life’s junk is to whine, complain, blame, begrudge, and get angry.

Mining the gems of thankfulness creates fertile ground for the seeds of peace and joy to take deep root.

The very things we need to sustain us through the junk.

Enjoy your circumstances was the prompt I needed. In the midst of the waiting, I could practice finding thankful gems to pray up to the Lord. In this, joy promised to bubble up, override the frustration, and derail the meltdown.

What are some of the gems I found in the junk of oversold flights and two days at the airport? These are excerpts from my journal. If I can do this, so can you.

Day 1.

The alarm clanged at 4 a.m. Seriously? I am not a morning person. Lord, even though it is stinkin’ early and the birds aren’t up yet, thank you for my husband’s job that provides this benefit. This is a minor inconvenience compared to missing the bigger blessing of the conference. Thank you that security lines are short at this hour and that Einstein’s is open for coffee.

The first flight to Atlanta left full and I was not on it. I found a seat, opened my laptop and began the work of finding other options. Lord, thank you for mobile technology, that this airport has free Wi-Fi that works, and plugs near chairs.

Seven different stand-by lists to seven different cities and 15 missed flights later, I have walked close to 6,000 steps traveling between gates. Lord, thank you for feet that move and that all the gates Delta uses are in the same terminal. I would not have these same options at any other airport.

Those of us trying to get on a flight began to recognize one another as we moved from gate to gate, sharing resigned smiles. A young couple new to Delta and new to standby travel asked me for tips about how to navigate the system. Thank you, Lord, that your joy in me was evident and I was approachable.

12 hours at the airport and the temptation to whine was strong as I called it a day. Lord, thank you for family who rearranged their day to come fetch me at the airport. Thank you that I can take a shower, have a bed to sleep in, and for my great neighbor helping with my dog.

 Day 2.

There were fewer flights today than yesterday. Options were limited and standby lists just as long. Hope of getting home was elusive. Lord thank you for Bill Panky in his Hawaiian shirt, who made me laugh when he introduced himself as “Bill Panky, you know, like hanky-panky.”

 Eventually making it to Atlanta, I arrived at my car and discovered a flat tire. It was 10:30 p.m., still hot and humid, I’m wearing nice clothes, and have never changed my own tire before. This is the kind of thing that makes me want to emotionally melt down and challenges me to keep finding thankful gems. Lord, thank you that I am in a well-lit parking lot and not on the side of the interstate. Thank you that it is not raining. Thank you that I know how to change my tire even if I have not done it before. Thank you that I could get those lug nuts off. Lord, please don’t let my tire fall off on the way home.

 Arriving home I was greeted with dog hugs and kisses, I realized I was not tired despite the long day. I am surprised by how content and peaceful I feel. Have felt all along.

This is what God wants for us. He wants us to experience peace and joy. He wants us know contentment.

Mining the gems of thankfulness and praying them back to the Lord is how we cultivate a heart ready to receive His peace and joy in the midst of our trying circumstances.

This will be harder to do in some times than others. We must practice in the less trying times to be established in this for when the harder times come.

Whatever you have going on in your life today, practice finding the gem amidst the junk. Pray. Be Joyful.

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