An Unusual Thankful List

This Thanksgiving, I am taking a new approach to thankfulness. 

I've been thinking back to some of the things about which I have complained in recent times,

and I am changing the complaints to thanks.

I am thankful for my cluttered and messy house... 

     because it means my family has lots of fun messing it up and is not lacking in "stuff".

I am thankful for piles of laundry... 

     because it means we have an abundance of clothing. 

I am thankful that I have to cook dinner (and sometimes re-cook it because I burnt or otherwise messed up the first batch)... 

     because it means we have plenty to eat. 

I am thankful that there is rarely a quiet moment in the house... 

     because I have healthy, active loved ones playing inside it. 

I am thankful for our two cars that both needed expensive repairs within the course of a week...

     because it means that we have transportation. 

I am thankful for an already-small-and-now-crowded bed... 

     because I have a husband, toddler, baby, and two cats to snuggle with and keep me warm. 

I am thankful for the dirty dishes that seem to multiply on and take over my countertop... 

     because it means that we have enough food, plenty of dishes, and family to eat on them. 

I am thankful for toilets that leaked and pipes that froze and burst... 

     because it means that I have indoor plumbing.

I am thankful for medical bills... 

     because it means that we have access to medical care.

I am thankful for the bills that flood my mailbox every month... 

     because it means I have heat, water, electricity, insurance, cell phones, and so many more things are 

     considered luxuries in other parts of the world.

I am thankful for slow service and not-so-tasty meals at a restaurant... 

     because I am able to pay to go out to eat and have someone serve me and clean up after me, and I can still 

     leave a nice tip to be an example of Jesus to a server who has probably had a rough day.

I am thankful for cold, dreary winter days... 

     because it makes me appreciate summer more. (I almost couldn't convince my fingers to type that one!)

I am thankful for the sleepless and restless nights... 

     because still I woke up in the morning to a new day of life.  

I am thankful for the days when my children were too needy and wouldn't let me get anything done... 
     because we got to spend the whole day snuggling! 

I am especially thankful for long church services that seem extra long when I am trying to keep 2 kids entertained and quiet...  

     because I have the freedom to worship my God communally without fearing for my life. 

I encourage you to change your complaints into prayers of Thanksgiving. We are so blessed! 

What unusual items are on your thankful list this year? Share them in the comments below! 

GPS: God's Providence is Sure

Everything was loaded in the car and ready for our long journey to a warmer climate. As Northerners, there is only one place to go on a Winter vacation - anywhere South! While we knew where our final destination would be and had traveled a similar route before, we did not know by heart exactly how to get there. That’s why we took along one of the newest members of our family - TomTom.

TomTom is our GPS. She magically guides us where we need to go. All we do is put in the destination address and she leads us, showing us when and where to turn, even estimating when we will arrive. She warns us if we get off track -- and recalculates the route if we have really strayed from the original path. (She even tells us, in a Jamaican accent nonetheless, that we are geniuses!)

So before embarking on our tiring journey (if you have ever tried to entertain a toddler on a long trip, you know what I mean by “tiring”), we programmed the GPS with the address of our destination. No more planning a route with an oversized atlas, or even printing turn-by-turn directions from MapQuest. No, siree. We just typed in the destination location and started driving.

It always makes me a little nervous when I just go, without planning the route. I am quite a planner (read: control freak) so when I use a GPS I feel like I am following blindly, and fear that before I know it my GPS will not have taken me to Florida, but instead to Canada! But I try to relax and just let the GPS lead (...though I do check every once in awhile to make sure we are headed in the correct direction). Rarely has TomTom let us down, and even then the mix-up has usually been caused by confusion over recent road changes or closures that were different on the system’s map.

Relying on (or rather, questioning the abilities of) my GPS caused me to ponder more spiritual matters, such as relying on (and questioning the abilities of) God. It is so hard for a planner like me (again, read: control freak) to follow God when I don’t know where He is leading me. Taking tip-toe steps of faith is hard enough, but leaps of faith when I can’t see what lies between me and the other side is incredibly difficult. And yet, this is often how God leads -- with just enough light to see the next step in front of us.

A classic example of following God’s lead is Old Testament patriarch Abraham, who was called to leave his home, pack up everything he owned, and move somewhere - but he wasn’t told where. He was just told to go. Don’t type the final destination into the GPS. Don’t question why you are going Southeast when you clearly have an inkling that you should be going Northwest. Just go. Just walk in faith and God will show you where to turn and when to stop. Just keep walking, just keep walking…

God has such a grander plan for us than we can imagine -- perhaps even more than we could handle if he showed us the destination when we were just beginning our journey. There is so much to encounter along the way to prepare us to be the individual who will thrive in the mystery destination location; there is so much to learn every step of the adventure. If we saw the end before we even began, we might tell God, “No, God, you’ve got the wrong person. I could never do that.” But instead, all along the way, God molds us and uses experiences to shape our character into the person who will be able to do the work to which He has called us.

The journey itself is important as well, so we must not dismiss opportunities to do good along the way and serve God in every season of our lives. And as followers of Christ, we do know our ultimate final destination -- spending eternity forever with God and Jesus in the Kingdom. We can rest assured that God will guide us, show us where to turn, and gently point us in the right direction when we get off the straight and narrow path. But in order to get to our Kingdom destination, we must follow and trust our GPS -- God’s Providence is Sure.