Thanks
This time of year I am bombarded with the phrases: "give thanks", "be thankful", "with a grateful heart", and so on. And these phrases, although appropriate and heartfelt, usually refer to material possessions, or health, or happiness. And I am thankful for those things; I should be. Yet all those material things will eventually pass away like dust. I long for a thankfulness that's deeper, more meaningful, and not centered on me, but, rather, centered on eternity.
Lately, I have been searching my heart for such things and have found a few. Things such as a marriage that God has placed me in, not for my own benefit, but to reflect the relationship of His son and His church, in order to benefit others. Or maybe it's sending me a child that I thought I was going to keep for my happiness, yet could not keep, in order to comfort other women who had suffered a similar loss. Could it be that all those children, upstairs in bed, were not just for my own fulfillment, but to be sent out to minister to the world? Once, I was wounded badly by someone I love dearly, and the relationship was restored not so much because I was hurt and needed healing, but to show the power of forgiveness. And what about those years wandering in a desert, searching for a church we thought would make us happy, but really, God was showing us how much we need to rely on Him first and foremost? And I can't forget the months of migraines that reduced me to not-much-better-than-useless, but my children were the ones blessed because I spent hours reading the Bible to them.
For these things I am thankful and they have blessed me, even though at the time I wasn't feeling thankful; and I can't deny that God has certainly blessed me beyond my understanding. Yet, I wonder if, maybe, He has chosen to not only give things to me, but through me. And that's the idea that has been growing in my mind and heart lately: God's blessings given exponentially through His children. I may never know how many people have been blessed, not because of me, but because God chose to bless them through me. Blessed for eternity. And living my life with that in mind is certainly going to affect my decisions, my attitudes, my reactions. Lord, help me to keep this in my mind and heart, and may I grow to long for things of eternity more and more and for temporal things less and less!
Lately, I have been searching my heart for such things and have found a few. Things such as a marriage that God has placed me in, not for my own benefit, but to reflect the relationship of His son and His church, in order to benefit others. Or maybe it's sending me a child that I thought I was going to keep for my happiness, yet could not keep, in order to comfort other women who had suffered a similar loss. Could it be that all those children, upstairs in bed, were not just for my own fulfillment, but to be sent out to minister to the world? Once, I was wounded badly by someone I love dearly, and the relationship was restored not so much because I was hurt and needed healing, but to show the power of forgiveness. And what about those years wandering in a desert, searching for a church we thought would make us happy, but really, God was showing us how much we need to rely on Him first and foremost? And I can't forget the months of migraines that reduced me to not-much-better-than-useless, but my children were the ones blessed because I spent hours reading the Bible to them.
For these things I am thankful and they have blessed me, even though at the time I wasn't feeling thankful; and I can't deny that God has certainly blessed me beyond my understanding. Yet, I wonder if, maybe, He has chosen to not only give things to me, but through me. And that's the idea that has been growing in my mind and heart lately: God's blessings given exponentially through His children. I may never know how many people have been blessed, not because of me, but because God chose to bless them through me. Blessed for eternity. And living my life with that in mind is certainly going to affect my decisions, my attitudes, my reactions. Lord, help me to keep this in my mind and heart, and may I grow to long for things of eternity more and more and for temporal things less and less!
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