Communication

The internet has given us the world in a way never before available in the course of human history.  What I post from my sofa in small town USA is instantly available around the world, to the farthest reaches of the planet.  It is pretty amazing to be able to share my thoughts and my faith in that way, and I am grateful for the opportunity.

Jesus didn't have the internet, but his words were powerfully spoken.  Crowds followed him everywhere, hanging on his every word. The Bible remains the best selling book of all time, because of the message it communicates.  Jesus understood the power of communicating, and he left us a record of his thoughts which guide us even today.  We each have the power to communicate our faith to others, and the internet is one more tool in the box with which to do it.

Although there is potential for harm if one is careless online, the potential for greater good is also there.  I embrace that potential.  I am grateful today for the opportunity to commit to words what my faith means to me, and to communicate those thoughts around the world through the internet.

So crafty

I am having a garment altered, and the changes I wanted to be made were pretty substantial.  I dropped the dress off a week ago, explained what I wanted, and left, expecting the rather big project to take awhile.  I was surprised to get a call this week, asking me to come for another fitting.

When I arrived, the dress was perfect.  She had taken my vision for that garment, and turned it into exactly what I was hoping for.  Her work fulfilled my dreams, and I am so in awe.

Jesus was raised by a carpenter, and surely understood that process.  I have no doubt that he spent years working alongside Joseph, turning wood into creations that people wanted and needed.  God doesn't make mistakes, and I am certain that he selected Joseph for a reason.  Perhaps it was to show Jesus the beauty of creation.

Today I am grateful for craftspeople.  It is such a gift, to be able to take someone else's vision and make it real for them.  Today I will look for the beauty in the world around me that was created by someone's hands, and appreciate the work that went into it.

Hard work

People come in all shapes and sizes, and their interests vary as much as their physical appearance.  Some people spend their day using their brains, while others work with their hands.  Some people drive, some sit at a desk, some stand.  Whatever you do during your day, it is probably tiring, if you work hard.  Jesus was often tired at the end of his day, and he understands what it feels like to be worn out.  But the hard work yields results, and makes the effort worthwhile.

I am grateful today for the opportunity to have a job.  Millions of people in this world have no place to go, no way to make a living, no opportunity to make a better life for themselves.  I am fortunate to wake up with somewhere to go every single day, even if some days I don't feel like making my way there!

Pets

In Genesis, starting with verse 20, we see the beginning of God's living creations.  Starting with the creatures of the sea, followed by the birds of the air, then the animals on the land, he brought his new world to life with a stunning array of living things.  But it was not enough.  After all the living things were flourishing, then he created humans.  People and animals are meant to go hand in hand through life.  It is how God created us to be.

Pets have a very special place in our lives, from the earliest days of domestication.  They give us comfort, love, and adoration.  They uplift us in all our moods, brightening a hard day, and enhancing our good times.  They are not driven by the ego of worldly pursuits; rather, they are driven by dependence upon us.  But with animals, as with children, our satisfaction of their needs builds trust and love.  I don't know what animals Jesus interacted with, other than that famous donkey who unwittingly played a role on Palm Sunday, but I have no doubt that he would have loved an animal or two along the journey.

Today I am so grateful for all the pets through the years which have made my life incomparably better.  Dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, even fish have shared my life and brought me such joy and pleasure.  I have a house filled with love, because every day I have TidBit, Gizmo, Meow, and Gershwin waiting for me, needing me, longing to be with me.  They fill a unique place in my heart, and I am thankful to have them.

Friendship

Jesus came to earth as a human child, and because he did, he understands the full range of human needs.  He had parents, siblings, and extended family who helped and supported and sustained him, and I don't underestimate their important in his life.

But in addition, he had friends every place he went.  He depended on those friends to provide food, shelter, and most importantly, companionship and love while on his journey.  Although most of his friends didn't understand his mission at the time, they cared for his body and his mind, gave him love, and supported his ministry financially and emotionally.  Without them, Jesus would have been a much lonelier traveler in this world.

I am grateful for friends of the heart today, those true friends who are there when things are darkest, and who celebrate with you when the light begins to shine again, even when they have to make a sacrifice for that to happen.  Each and every one is a blessing to me from God, and I am thankful every day for the gift of love they have given me.

Painful parenting

When my daughter was born several weeks prematurely, it was a difficult time for me as a mother.  Hormonal, frantic, and extremely ill myself, I was nearly out of my mind with worry as she battled through her medical issues.  Tubes and wires and machines surrounded her naked little body as she lay on the warming tray, too sick even to be in an incubator.  The hardest part for me was allowing various medical procedures which, in the short term, I knew would be painful, in the effort to save her life and her health for the long term.  Blood tests every few hours, with her blood measured by the drop.  Intravenous lines in her head and her body.  Worst of all, a spinal tap without anesthetic, because her fragile little form couldn't tolerate the medication which would have relieved her pain.

Every time the doctor wanted permission to do another procedure, I had to willfully allow them to hurt my precious little baby, so that in the end, she would recover and be healthy.  It was one of the most stressful times of my life, but I learned a great deal about God and my faith during those difficult days.

God the Father allowed his only son to be hurt, even killed on a cross, to save me for all eternity.  He didn't do it for a vague somebody or other, he did it for me.  It is almost overwhelming to know the pain he endured so that I wouldn't have to.  It is unconditional grace at its highest level, and it was for me.

I am grateful for the opportunity to be a parent, and to feel a little of the pain that God felt when his son was hanging on that cross for me.  It brings me in closer relationship with God, and allows me to deepen the dependence and faith I have in him for all things.

Hungry

We are unconditioned in the United States to understand hunger.  We have food at every turn. megamarkets filled with goodies, and most of the population is overweight, if not obese.  So it can fairly be said that we do not understand hunger, in the way that the truly poor of the world understand hunger.

And yet, for all our material advantages, people are deeply hungry.  So many people are searching for meaning in their lives.  They look everywhere - food, drugs, alcohol, possessions, travel, bank accounts, televisions and furniture and houses, all the toys that make life fun.  But they are still empty, still searching.  God is the sustenance they are seeking, because only in him can you be filled.

Today I am grateful for the spiritual hunger that has brought me to faith.  It is the only food that matters for eternal life.

Living water

Much of the ministry of Jesus involved water.  His first miracle was turning water into wine.  He preached from the water, he pulled disciples from among the local fishermen, he was baptized in the water, and he spoke about water in his teaching.  Water is a vital element for human life, and Jesus used that basic need to illustrate his message on many occasions in various ways.

When Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman by the well, he called himself Living Water.  In that time, the metaphor would have been immediately understood, because the well was the center of life in every town.  Everyone, no matter what their interests, no matter how rich or how poor, whatever their position in the social hierarchy, eventually had to come to the well.  It was both a place for physical refreshment, as well as a place for social interaction.  It was the center of everything, and it was likely the first place a traveler would go to upon entering the town.

Jesus is our water.  He is waiting for each of us to come to the well of life that he provided with his death and resurrection.

Today, I am grateful for the physical thirst which reminds me of the need to drink of the Living Water of Jesus.

When failing is winning...

Yesterday afternoon, I watched as my local girls HS basketball team fell victim to a state championship team that was just a tinch more prepared.  But while our girls were defeated, they didn't fail.  They played with determination and spirit to the very last moment, and they learned something about themselves that winning wouldn't have taught them.  That is the thing about failure.  You learn so much from it.

Today I am grateful for failure, because that is how growth occurs.  Just like pruning a tree, you are forced to sprout new growth through the disappointment.  Jesus paid the ultimate price, losing his life so that we might have eternal life in heaven.  Whatever failures come my way, I am grateful for the opportunity it presents to change and grow and become closer to the person God wants me to be.  That is the ultimate win!

Forged faith

Today I am grateful for a life filled with hardship and grief.  It is never easy to endure the pain of living an uncertain life, and I have had my share of griefs to bear over the years.  I have lost loved ones, including a parent, I have gone through a divorce and watched my children suffer in the process, I have struggled with serious medical issues for both my children and myself, and heard the word cancer applied to me twice.  (Both fine, nothing serious, but still scary to hear.)  Through it all, God has been ever present, uplifting me with his gracious goodness, supporting me in my weakened condition as he brought me to a new humbled attitude of more pure faith.   When the fire burns hottest, forcing us to shield our faces from the heat of the flame, we become raw metal, offered up to God to mold as he sees fit.  It is then that we can do God's greatest work, because we become his vessel.

Thank you God for forging my faith with hardship.

Judge not

I am grateful for a God who never gives up on me. It is so easy to judge others, and to THINK you know what their story is. But God DOES know our story, and even when we go off road from his plan, he still has a plan that will bless us. Whether its a criminal hanging on a cross next to him or you or me, God has filled our world with endless grace. He isn't the God of second chances, as the saying goes. He is the God of endless chances. Have a blessing filled day.

In the beginning....

This year, I have decided to use the season of Lent to remind myself of the blessings for which I am grateful. I thought I would share my little faith journey, in case anyone else wants to join me and follow along.

I have never thought giving something up for Lent made sense. Jesus was the light of the world, and brought us grace and eternal salvation. In honor of his sacrifice for me, and what he brought to me, I want to remember what I have to be thankful for. Jesus was a giver, not a taker. I want to follow him and be the same.

But I am not going to just name something. It has to be meaningful in the context of my faith. So here goes.

I am grateful today for spring. It is a reminder of how Jesus renewed and redeemed us from the winter of our own sinful choices. As the sun rises higher and warms the earth, so too does our Savior redeem us by lighting our path like a beacon in the darkness. Thank you Lord for this blessing.