6.06.2006
The Art of Thankfulness
As I was sitting in Starbucks this morning I remembered something I had forgotten. This time last year (and most likely at that precise moment), I would probably have been doing dishes after breakfast. It probably would've been either pancakes or french toast. The plates would be dripping with syrup and dream whip from children who laid it on thick as their teacher's backs were turned. The mugs would be filled with curdled milk as kids discovered that you indeed cannot add milk to herbal tea. : ) And I would've had to make some choices. First of all, I would need to choose a song to sing. Or if a song was already being sung, I would need to choose whether or not to sing along. Although singing was an outward expression, seeming to be of little or no consequence, it was always a sign of a deeper decision. It was the decision of whether or not to be thankful. Would I choose a song of thankfulness to be the offering of my heart? Would I join in as others initiated their offerings of the same? As I sat in Starbucks, I realized the laziness of my heart in this moment one year later. I don't really have to do those dishes anymore. I don't really sing as I work anymore (the music we play is so loud, you can barely think). Yet the choice is still the same. Will I be thankful to God? Will I choose to sing that song? I wrote in my journal, giving thanks to God for many things. And for the first time in a long time, my perspective changed. I had always been amazed at how drastically thankfulness changed my perspective. Mere survival became abundant life and silence or apathy toward God became continuous and contagious praise. I had forgotten that. I'm glad He is good at reminding. "This is the day that the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it ... blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. The Lord is God, and He has given us light; bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, and I extol you. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting." -Psalm 118:24, 26-29
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6 comments:
Very true. Thank you for the reminder. As believers we should be the people who are filled with the most joy, who's joy is overflowing. Yet I so often feel dammed up. It is amazing how easy it is for us to forget such a simple thing as 'Delight yourself in the Lord' Yet when we do, nothing can phase us, because of who our Joy is set in. Thank you for the reminder. And excel still more, fight for more joy. We must constantly be fighting for joy in God like our lives depend on it, because it does.
Jeff
Very true. Thank you for the reminder. As believers we should be the people who are filled with the most joy, who's joy is overflowing. Yet I so often feel dammed up. It is amazing how easy it is for us to forget such a simple thing as 'Delight yourself in the Lord' Yet when we do, nothing can phase us, because of who our Joy is set in. Thank you for the reminder. And excel still more, fight for more joy. We must constantly be fighting for joy in God like our lives depend on it, because it does.
Jeff
Hey Kristine. What a great reminder for us to rest in the Lord, something I so often forget to... especially, as you mentioned, when I was working at Old Navy (I quit a month a go, by the way). As Hudson Taylor wrote to his children: "I used to try to keep my own heart right, but it would be always going wrong; and so at last I had to give up trying myself, and accept Jesus’ offer to keep it for me... Once I used to try to think very much and very often about Jesus, but I often forgot Him; now I trust Jesus to keep my heart remembering Him, and He does so." Amazing how even the act of resting requires Christ's help to do so.
In response to your comment on my website, the picture was taken by my friend at a beach close to my house. I really like it too! God Bless, Kristine Brown!
Such a refreshing reminder! Something we so easily forget to consider as it's so easy to get caught up in the attitude of 'the world'. God is so good to us all the time! It's an encouragment to me as it causes me to remember to be thankful for the little things in life that we so often take for granted. Thanks!
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