Thanks for All

 

I’m sure many of us are thinking the same thought today, “I can’t believe Thanksgiving is only a few days away!”  I’m feeling the same sentiment.  Whether you are preparing for 50 people or 5, there is still preparation.   I find myself ensuring I have enough chairs, where is everyone going to sit, will I have enough turkey (and I better ensure I have enough stuffing my mom reminds me).  Yet, with all that preparation, I breathe and take a moment for thanks.

These verses from 1 Thessalonians have become some of my favorites.  “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  A few years ago, I made a point of spending time with these verses, understanding the power in these words.  At face value, one may say, “Doing that is easy enough!”  Maybe it is for some, but for me, I found myself falling short.  Let’s take each one.

Rejoice Always – When something wonderful happens, we can find ourselves celebrating for that which makes us happy.  In the moment, there can be joy and smiles, laughter, and happiness.  Do I share thanks with our Lord for those moments?  Does pride seep in and I forget where the goodness comes from?  Taking the time to rejoice always in good (and the tough) situations is what God wants from us.  He certainly deserves our rejoicing in him, always!

Pray Continually – I admire folks who have prayer journals and sit down with those journals daily to pray for those in need.  I’m not one of those folks.  My prayer time is erratic and many times I find my quiet prayer time to be in the car, driving to work in the morning.  It is one of the many things I fall short with and keep trying to improve.  One area I have gained in prayer is praying immediately.  What does that look like?  Taking a few moments to pray for that tough meeting I may have, or ensuring I lift someone up to God when I hear of a health situation or a difficult time for them.  Immediately talking to God has brought him into my life continuously throughout the day. 

Give Thanks in All Circumstances –To give thanks for all?  That’s much to ask from us humans, isn’t it?  Giving thanks to God for hurt and despair, for heartache and ill health, for sadness and loneliness can be a very tall order.  Why am I thanking God if I’m ill or lonely?  I struggled with that concept for a long time.  I realized that the glory may not come in the situation, but that I have a God I can go to, to talk with, who understands what I am dealing with.  Yes, little me among the billions of people, has God’s ear and God has my heart.  He knows when life is hard for us.  The more we go to him with, “God, I may not know your plan, but I know you are my God.  This road may be tough for me now, but I am thankful for what you are showing me and teaching me.”  It isn’t an easy prayer to say, especially if we are angry or in despair.  That is when God wants us to reach out to him.

Giving thanks for all we have, the good and the bad, the joy and the sadness, can seem difficult.  Friends, we have a God who understands us and wants us to come to him with it all.  He wants to help us get through the tough times with him by our side.  Revel in the knowledge that our God knows the plan for us.  He will be there for us if we go to him with a thankful heart.  Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Heavenly Father, we thank you for it all!  Help us to always come to you rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks in all circumstances!

List Interrupter

 

When my husband asked what I was doing on a sunny, chilly Saturday, I shared, “Making Lists!”  As he rolled his eyes, he was probably thinking, “That means I’ll receive my list as well!”  He wasn’t too far away with that thinking, but it IS getting to be that time of year, when there is lots to be done and what seems little time to do it!  Thereby, LISTS!  Many folks can walk through life and face what they have in front of them, dealing with it at that moment.  Me?  I can’t even do that on vacation, never mind everyday life.

I admire folks who take life one moment at a time.  I envision them seeing what the day may hold and living/reacting to whatever is in front of them.  There are no plans, no worry if the plan doesn’t happen, no scrambling around to ensure the plan is met.  I have tried that, even on a weekend vacation.  It makes me so uncomfortable!

Therefore, when it comes to the holiday season, the lists get ‘amped up’.  Planning things that need to get done, dinner menus, fun activities, etc.  The planning moves into doing and ensuring that everything that was carefully planned falls into precision execution.  Then, it happens!  The one thing that I DIDN’T plan for, the one thing I WASN’T counting on.  All the well-laid plans fall to the wayside.  After the moment of craziness (and usually a few tears in the bathroom), I emerge knowing God is talking to me!  It is in those moments I realize my plans may not be God’s plans.

 In that moment, Isaiah 55:8 rolls into my head, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declared the Lord.  That is so very true.  When my ways are the only ways, God steps in to remind me HIS ways are the only ways.  It is His purpose and His plans that I need to follow.  It is in these moments I have learned to gain perspective.  It is in these moments I have grown to lean on God.  It is in these moments I pray and say, “Show me what I need to do now.” 

I find that is when I learn the most from my Heavenly Father.  I believe that is when God teaches us the best!  When times are not what we expect, when life throws us the ‘list interrupter”, that is when God becomes front and center.  He teaches, comforts, guides, and loves us through those times.  His patience is so great as we are so weak.  When we can say, “Show me what I need to do,” he graciously leads us to His purpose, His plan.  It may seem so far astray from the journey we want to take, but with Him guiding us, as in Matthew 19:26, “…with God, all things are possible.”

My friends, as we move into this busy holiday season of Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas, let us breathe.  May the lists that I know all of you have not be our only guide.  May the Father himself reach out to remind us that His plans and His purpose are far greater than anything we may have in store.  Release the list to the moment and may we all learn what God may have in store for us!  It’s not easy, and it will take practice.  I’m going to work on this during the next few weeks.  Will you join me? 

Dearest Lord, move my eyes away from MY to-do’s and focus on YOUR to-do’s!  In your name we I pray, Amen!

Bare

 

Fall in New England is incredible.  As I’ve shared, each year, the leaves turn.  Some years the colors are more vibrant than others, but color arrives like a paintbrush over the trees.  As certain as we are that the leaves will turn, we are even more certain that the leaves will fall, which yields a much-dreaded chore for many folks, picking up the leaves.  My husband will find himself collecting the leaves multiple times throughout the week.  It is a job that is difficult to stay ahead of.  Some leaves will fall with the gentlest of breezes while others seem to need a tornado to even shift position. 

Eventually, the trees are bare.  Many of them are coming to the end of this season and soon all one will see is the silhouette of the branches.  Just as beautiful as the green leaves are in spring and the colorful leaves in autumn, the bare branches have a beauty all their own.  When I look at the tree with its dark bark against a pale blue sky, it reminds me of us and our journey in faith.

Our faith journey can find us in many different seasons.  When our journey is new, it can feel like spring – full of freshness.  In our season of summer, it can feel warm and restful, like a hug from the summer SON.  In autumn, our journey can feel colorful, filled with many different aspects of faith such as worship, servanthood, and study.  In winter, it can take on a sense of self-reflection, exposing our true selves and being ‘bare’ to Christ.

Let us not be confused, our Lord walks with us and sees us in all the seasons – long before we do!  That is especially the case in the winter season and baring ourselves to God.  Many times, this comes with a reflection on the sins we have committed throughout our lives – some small and some grave.  It may come with a reflection on how we may not have given as much of ourselves to Jesus as we wanted to – in worship, servanthood, or study.  It may also come with a reflection that no matter how much we try and learn from God’s word, we will only come away with a fragment of what is intended in the Good Book.

Yes, Jesus sees us bare long before we get there.  He sees our sins; He sees our shortcomings; He sees our doubts.  Our Lord, being the loving and merciful Lord that He is takes our exposure, the baring of ourselves in our winter season, and fills it with love, hope, joy, and grace.  Although we may look at our own bare silhouette and believe there is nothing, we can do to gain God’s love, he swoops in with the Good News that we are right!  There is nothing we can DO but believe!  If we believe, we gain his love, hope, joy, grace, and SALVATION! 

During the winter season, where we can feel as bare as the tree with no leaves, know that Jesus is right there to clothe us with righteousness and adorn us with the robe of His children.  So, bare yourself, self-reflect, and smile – for you are God’s child.

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the ability to bare ourselves to you, like a tree in winter, and helping us to know that no matter how bleak things may look, you are there to save us.  Amen!