Tough Day....

So I'm having an unusually tough day and was reminded by this:

Thanks That Stands Out

It has taken me many years to understand the admonishment in

Scripture to be thankful in all circumstances. (1Thes 5:18) Sadly,

there were many years I even wrestled with a resentful heart at the

suggestion. It did not make sense to me to praise God when things in my life

were a struggle. My immature heart questioned how I could praise Him when

everything wasn’t “right”. I frequently wondered if He was aware of our finances,

loss, or fear. Miserably, it was with gritted teeth and reluctant obedience that I

praised our Savior.

Over the last few decades, as my relationship with Christ has grown more

intimate, my focus has completely changed. I have learned to trust Him explicitly

in every detail of my life. And it has become apparent that one of the reasons

God requires me to be thankful is to protect my heart. Thanksgiving is fabulous

insulation from discouragement and despair. In fact, one of the powerful secrets

of a thankful heart is that nothing can crush it; not disappointment or illness or

loss or any other overwhelming circumstance. A thankful heart is powerful. Isn’t it

just like God to make thanksgiving for our benefit as well?

And thankfulness has yet another dimension that I did not recognize until three

years ago. One day, in my effort to help us walk out Laura’s illness with

thanksgiving, I pulled out an old quilt top. For months, we discussed and

practiced being thankful by adding a Hot Pink embroidery stitch each time we

found something to be thankful for-new medication, a kind nurse, time together,

or a word of encouragement. Before our eyes those Hot Pink stitches

transformed the ordinary cream and navy patches into a real conversation piece

that could not be overlooked. We watched in wonder as giving thanks

transformed Laura’s heart in such a way that she began dramatically impacting

everyone around her. That’s when it dawned on us. A thankful heart cannot be

overlooked! Like a Hot Pink stitch in an ordinary quilt, so is a thankful heart in an

ordinary life.

Hot Pink moments of thanks come more often than we realize. Immediately I

think of my friend, Jannette. Just last week, I was talking to her about her

daughter’s terrible accident and near fatal head injury. We were talking about

trusting God with our children. As she shared her response after receiving the call

about the accident she said, “I hung up the phone and remembered to be

thankful. I started thanking God that I had a car and that I could drive to the site,

that her father was already with Eleora, that we could get her to a hospitalGand

now, of course, I am so thankful she is recovering well.” My eyes welled up with

tears as I heard her story. Jannette’s response was not ordinary; it was Hot Pink!

Her thankful heart cannot be overlooked and makes me want to know our Savior,

who so lovingly cared for her, all the more.

Lord, please transform my heart. I want to always give you Hot Pink praise!

ERIN

“Give thank to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has

done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.” Isaiah 12:4-5

that I needed to remember to thank the Lord even in the midst of our roughest times. So here are some of the things I'm thankful for today.

1. A Savior who loves me even when I'm unlovable.

2. That I have 4 healthy children

3. Our "farm" animals

4. Food in the kitchen

So even though I've focused more on the negative things most of the day today I'm now going to choose to thank the Lord for these things and try harder to find things to be thankful for even in the midst of days that don't *seem* to have things to be thankful for!

PS. I went to our homeschool support meeting Tue after I wrote this and here's a picture I thought I'd share of the quilt top she was talking about :)