Give Thanks

This is the day/week/month that most of us stop and reflect on all of the things we are thankful for.  I thought about a 10-item countdown, a miniature version of the 30-day Facebook countdown many have been working on all month.  But in the end I decided to just write about the handful of things that have been heavy on my heart of late.

I am thankful for…

-       A God who loves me more than I can imagine even on days (or weeks) that I barely acknowledge Him.  It is so easy to get caught up in the noisy demands of our day-to-day schedules that God can seem very far away and Heaven a distant dream.  But God is real.  His love is real.  His sacrifice for us is real.  And the relationship He longs for us to make time for is the realest kind of bond we could ever make with anyone.  I am grateful that God pursues me relentlessly in spite of my indifference and offers me the chance to experience that kind of love.

-        The comforts and provisions that I usually take for granted.  I reluctantly went to the store the other evening.  It was damp and foggy, yet because of the many lights in the parking lot and the bustle of people doing their holiday shopping, it felt almost like mid-afternoon.  I suddenly thought of my Malawian friends, sitting in the dark in the brick and straw huts of their villages when the sun goes down, no large convenience store to shop at, no fussy holiday preparations to make.  As I reflected on what it would feel like if that life were my reality, my step slowed, my countenance relaxed and I was even able to navigate the crowded aisles with patience and grace.

-        The current ministry job that I am allowed to take part in.  Without a doubt, God called me to go to Africa in March of 2010.  At the time I had no idea why and for months afterward I chafed that I could not be over there to help fill the many needs I had seen.  What I didn’t realize was that I was going to be allowed to fill an important role of service here, helping to train teams and coordinate Malawi journeys to engage many other people in service.  Although it is a constant learning and stretching for me personally and I fight inadequacy in my role, I love the job I have been called to do.  I am humbly grateful that God chose me and I answered with an obedient yes.

-        My family.  I often feel like I miss the mark on being a very good wife and mother, but yet I am grateful for the opportunity to try.  Even through the repetition of the tedious daily tasks, I have an important role to fill.  My children are my legacy.  As I learned (good and bad) from my own parents, so they will learn from me.  How to live life, how to love, how to feel about themselves, how to view the world and how to incorporate God into their lives.  The task can be overwhelming and thankless, but it is awesome and rewarding as well.  And it is a task that has been entrusted to me.

I am thankful.  Help me to always be thankful.

This day and every day.

Thanksgiving 2011