Something To Be Thankful For

I heard a great quote on the radio last week.  They said, “we don’t need more to be thankful for, we just need to be thankful more.” Isn’t that true of all of us?  We have so much to be grateful for.

I love that I have friends who will share all the seasons of life together with me.  Whether it’s a season of gain or loss, they are all a part of it, and I am not alone.

I have a church family who challenges and encourages me to be more than I otherwise would be.  I am accountable to them, and I am not alone.

I have a family at home, and no matter if they are traveling, busy with their own lives or asleep in their beds, they are a part of me and I am not alone.

Deuteronomy 31:6 says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid… for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Never leave you!  No matter the season, no matter the changing landscape of life, God never leaves us.  So we are not alone.  That is something I’m thankful for.

My favorite holy-day

Thanksgiving is one week away. And I love it! It’s probably strange for a Christian, a pastor moreover, to say that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. After all, shouldn’t Christmas or Easter be one of my favorites? But, in my life, Thanksgiving has captured my heart for two reasons. First of all, my family had a great tradition around the holiday. Every year, we would take five days and head up to a cabin in Lake Tahoe. The cabin was filled with a dozen friends, and all together we would celebrate together. Most family’s traditions center around food, football, and a parade, but not in our family. To be sure, we had plenty of food, but there was no TV at this cabin. No football. No parade. The days were filled with music, books, and walks. The nights were filled with fires, games, and talent shows.

The first Thanksgiving I remember at a cabin my sister and I got to sleep in a walk-in closet; it was awesome! I will never forget those times. At the cabin, I learned to play chess, and I still have the first chess that was given to me by one of our family friends. My lethal Monopoly skills were honed in that cabin. When I was ten years old, I didn’t understand what pleasure grown men took in driving me to tears when I landed on Boardwalk with two hotels, but now that I am older the simple joy of taking everyone’s fake money is strangely satisfying. And to top it off, every year ended with everyone sneaking down to the shore late at night, and watching the reflection of the illegal fireworks we were setting off sparkle in the watery reflection.

The second reason I love Thanksgiving is that there are no church events associated with it. I know it seems shallow and selfish, and it probably is. But there are no services, no special events, just a holiday. A holi-day. A holy-day. Set apart from all the other days. And even set apart from all the other holidays.

This year I am adding a third reason to my list. Thanksgiving brings my life back into balance. I know every year people complain that Christmas comes earlier and earlier. Somehow our holidays keep encroaching on time that isn’t theirs. But Christmas has always started in July for me, as I prepare for the special events and services. However, this year, it has shocked me; we have forgotten that in between Halloween and Christmas, there is Thanksgiving.

When you lose Thanksgiving in life, your life is tunneled into focusing on what you don’t have. But when you give thanks, you break out of your myopia, and focus on what you already have. Giving thanks looks at what is currently in your life, and finds the value in your current circumstances. I am a driven person. I have high expectations and set high goals. So I easily lock into what I don’t have and what I am trying to get. I need thanksgiving to bring my life into balance.

I wonder if that’s why the Psalmist says, “I will enter your gates with thanksgiving…” The path to God’s presence is gated with thanksgiving, and if we can’t give thanks then maybe we don’t get through the gates. I need to be in God’s presences, so I need thanksgiving. I need that holy day to bring my life back into balance, and I am looking forward to it. So don’t skip it; slow down; enjoy your Thanksgiving.

Road Blocks and Monuments

I was driving South on 395 yesterday, and noticed as I passed all the road construction that they had it all very well marked so you could steer clear of it all, and not mess up what they were doing, and stay safe, but I couldn’t help but notice how abruptly it ended.  It was so strange to me.  No signs, no markings saying, “near the end”, and the bright orange cones just stopped, right in the middle of the road -  which allowed me to go on about my business and maneuver into my desired lane with no hassle.

When we find ourselves in road construction it’s sometimes difficult to stay patient.  When the crew gestures wildly, it’s hard not to become frustrated.  When you slow to nearly a crawl, when you have places to be, it’s a challenge to bite your tongue.

We get impatient when our lives get road blocked too.  You think you know where you’re going, you’ve done the proper preparation, you are happily zooming through life, and all of a sudden you come to a screeching halt. Grrrrrrrrrr! Delayed! What on earth is going on here!?

David was able to relate to these feelings.  In Psalm 90:13-16 He says,

¹³ O Lord, come back to us!
How long will you delay?
Take pity on your servants!
¹⁴ Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,
so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
¹⁵ Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!
Replace the evil years with good.
¹⁶ Let us, your servants, see you work again;
let our children see your glory.

We should be constantly amazed by God’s goodness and be grateful even in times of waiting, not simply looking for the next hand out.  These times of waiting are often just little tests from God.  They are a way for Him to show us His glory.  They can be permanent road markers in our lives, that point us back to a place of remembrance.  Throughout the Old Testament there are passages in scripture where God told people to build a monument on a notable spot where God met with them.  I figure, “hey I’m stuck here anyway, so I might as well make it mean something.”  Joshua 4:5-6 says, “Each of you is to take up a stone…to serve as a sign among you.  In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them…”

We are to remember even the seemingly bad times in our lives, because they show us how much God has done for us.  They become markers of faith and God’s power to future generations. When we are able to our attention from out need, and look for Him, He shows up in amazing and unexpected ways.

It got me questioning, what are the markers in my life?  Photographs are really good markers.  Children’s artwork and report cards are too.  Tangible items we purchase stand as monuments at times too.

During a stressful season, I bought a hammock for my husband.  Even now, after much of the stress has subsided, I can look out my window at the hammock, and remember how God helped us find peace and rest during that time.

God wants to use all aspects of our lives, and He desires that we be grateful in and through all things.  So I encourage you, whether this season you’re in is flying by at breakneck speed, or you’ve been road blocked, set up a marker of remembrance today.  You will look back on it and see God’s glory in it.

Getting There

A couple days ago, my friend Brenda came back from Seattle where her wonderful father had passed away.  He was always an example of Godly strength and integrity in her life.  He was a state patrolman in Washington most of his life, and to her, he always seemed to have all the answers.  But as he lay in his hospital bed with family gathering near, one lingering question remained.  He whispered to her, “I’m just trying to figure out how to get there.”

It seems to me, we all seek to answer that question in our own way.  Even people with no knowledge of God or of the sacrifice Jesus made to have us join Him in His presence, contemplate what it means to get there.

There are a lot of  people who believe their final destination is heaven, but we find it so hard to live with a heaven-minded focus all the time. Things jumble up our lives, get in the way and block the view of our destination.  I love how it’s stated in the Message Bible, in Hebrews 12:13, “So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!”

What is the one thing you look forward to the most when you get to heaven?  It seems to me, for most of us it’s the thing we lack most here on earth.  For some, healing is at the top of our list.  For others, it’s being reunited with loved ones.  For others, it’s the desire to sing and worship with the angels, or to see heroes of the faith, like Abraham and Moses.  But the one constant, is the desire to see Jesus, and to be like Him.  There is nothing that can compete or compare when it comes to our longing for Christ.

Kirk Franklin has a song that says, “You’ll wipe tears, You’ll say ‘well done’ and you’ll hold me close and tell me I’ve overcome, You will exchange joy for my pain, and I’ll praise your name Jesus, when I get there.”

Until we have the experience of “getting there” for ourselves, who can say how it’s really accomplished or how to control the timing of it.  We can, however, control how we live today, for it’s in how we live today that determines how we get there.  We can live today with hearts full of love, kindness, compassion and thanksgiving.  That alone can clear the road of clutter for someone else to follow.  We might be tempted to think we get there alone, but in reality, there is always someone else following on the road behind us, watching how we get there.  Like it says in Hebrews, we need to help each other out.  It’s our right and responsibility as His people to clear the path for others, and to run for it until we get there.

Lookin’ For Water

I read a funny Arab quote today that said, “It is wise to bring some water, when one goes out to look for water.”  Isn’t that the truth!?  After contemplating desert existence last week, it got me thinking about the importance of water, figuratively, in my life.  No matter what causes the desert I’m in, whether it’s a financial loss, a troubled child, the separation of a friend, it doesn’t matter what the cause is, I’m always looking for a solution once I’m there.  Aren’t you?  We feel dry, parched, or worn out, and we go looking for water.

If I was going to bring water when I’m looking for water, I’d definitely bring my friend Susan.  She always texts me the nicest things.  Proverbs 25:25 describes it this way,
”Like a cool drink of water when you’re worn out and weary is a letter from a long-lost friend.”

Another thing I would bring is ice.  Oh my goodness, I LOVE ice!  My refrigerator stopped making it years ago, but I buy bags of it from the store every week.  When you travel overseas it’s next to impossible to get ice in a soda or tea or water.  Ice is American extravagance at it’s best!

But when you’re traveling through the desert, you don’t always get to bring a friend, and you don’t usually get to have luxuries like ice.

I have learned so much from studying the story Moses.  When he and all the children of Israel left Egypt, they watched God unleash His power and fury and let the seas swallow up their enemies.  It was a high day for them.  Then they started walking.  And walking.  And walking.  Looking for water.  They went one whole day.  Then two days.  Then three days.  Then, finally water was in sight.  They could see it.  They could feel it in the air. They came to a lovely spot marked by springs, and seventy palm trees.  They set up camp, ready to have a drink.  But they found out that water was bitter and undrinkable!

The people were fed up with following around behind Moses!  They said, “What are we to drink!”  It must’ve felt like torture to them.

God showed Moses a piece of wood and told him to throw it into the water to remedy the situation.  Moses must’ve thought God was off His rocker.  How ridiculous! But Moses eventually threw it into the water, the water became sweet, and they had a party!

We see it so often in our own lives, that God uses the ridiculous to teach us lessons in faith and obedience and trust.  Eventually, we too, find that a surrendered heart brings miracles into our lives.

Honestly, this is a timeless, abiding truth we MUST LEARN!  I even saw it on last night’s episode of The Biggest Loser.  When the contestants fight the trainer and complain and argue, they don’t meet their desired goals.  But wow! When they press in, do what is asked of them, even give a little more, the weight comes flying off.  It seems like they learn that lesson the longer they stay on the ranch.  Obedience=success.

I’ve been around long enough to know now, if I’m thirsty enough, I will do what it takes to obey God.