Are you a grateful person? It's easy sometimes to see the things that are not the way we want them to be. The weather is too cold, too hot, not sunny enough, or we don't have enough rain. My health is not what I wish, my job is not what I wish, my back hurts, my kids are a struggle, my parents are a struggle, my spouse is a struggle. My favorite team got beat, my investments are down, prices are too high.
 
As we approach the end of Lent, we are invited to see all these things that we would not choose not as curses to be complained about, but as gifts from God that we don't yet appreciate. In our Gospel today, Jesus prophesied His death on the cross, and admits that He is troubled by what He knows is coming, but He refuses to complain and offers all for the Glory of God because He trusts in the Father's love. How about you? Do you trust in the Father's love? Can you offer up your pains, difficulties, and disappointments to the Father in communion with Jesus? That is the mark of a truly grateful person, one who thanks God, not just when he gets what he wants, but also, when he gets what he does not want, because he trusts that God will bring good out of it.
 
As we approach the end of Lent, let us all turn to God in gratitude, trusting that God will bring good even out of those things we would not choose. And in so doing, let us prepare to share in Christ's resurrection.