I’m not sure how I came up with this idea, but I think that my life would be less stressful if I didn’t get frazzled about anything that couldn’t have frazzled me 30 years ago.  Take gadgets, for example, and their ability to frustrate:

Delayed Amazon deliveries

A slow internet                                                                                                                    Passwords                                                                                                                           Fast-food restaurants that use kiosks                                                             Pinterest ideas that never turn out like the pictures

Yellow, blinking lights that fail to blink

In the list above, all of these modern inventions are intended to make our lives easier, yet when they fail to do so, I become frustrated instead of being thankful for the times they do work. Why is that?  In Luke 17:11-17, we read of 10 outcast lepers who were healed by Jesus. Lepers were no small deal.  They were considered permanently unclean, so they could not worship in the temple. They could not hang with their families and were cut off from society. Jesus curing them was no minor miracle.

Still, only one thanked him, and in no insignificant way.  That leper fell at Jesus’ feet and loudly praised him for this miracle.  Jesus questioned why the other nine just went on their merry way while only one stayed behind to show gratitude.  Being thankful was important to Jesus.

Typically, I love thanking people and look for ways to do so.  Still, I need to do a better job of thanking God. Take this morning, for example. I had countless reasons for which to be grateful: life itself; opportunities to pray; a phone call from one of our children; a car that started; great friends; inspirational, Christian Instagram posts; Kleenex (allergies); and short lines at the post office. The list was endless, but only now, while writing this, am I thanking God.

In the Bible, the word “thanks” or “Thanksgiving” appears over 100 times, and no season reminds me of the need to show gratitude more than Easter.  Without the Resurrection, we would be hopeless. The Bible would be just another history book, and Christianity would be pointless. None of us would have a chance to spend eternity with Jesus.

The next time I’m frustrated because my internet is weak or my Pinterest macaroons look more like a blackened pizza crust, or I’m spending 15 minutes pushing the wrong buttons, trying to order an Egg McMuffin, I need to remember what’s truly important.  Actually, I need to remember Who is the most important…and maybe fall at His feet when I do

That’s what Easter is all about.