I have been slowing chipping away at typing up some of my old journals over the last several months. It has been quite a process and has brought up many emotions as well. I have seen how far I have come from where I was over ten years ago. I was in a place of bondage and hopelessness, yet there was something that amazed me. Somehow, despite the circumstances of my life at the time, I was steadfast in my relationship with the Lord and furthermore, grateful. My life a decade ago looked much different than it does now. It was filled with anger, anxiety, fear, desperation, and hopelessness. Yet there was a light in that dark cave, and I chose to draw ever closer to that light. The light, love, and warmth of my relationship with Jesus. I knew He was my only hope to the situation I found myself in - a situation brought about by my own bad decisions. What has struck me as I am typing up these entries is that I almost always took the time to thank the Lord for even the littlest things in my life. It has caused me to question, am I as grateful now? Do I express to Him often enough how thankful I am for the blessings He brings to my life each and every day? Sadly, I think I'm not. My life still has issues and obstacles to overcome, but I am not in such a state of absolute despair as I was back then. If anything I should be more grateful because I am out of that dark cave. Sometimes we have to remember how far we have come to regain our perspective and renew a thankful heart within ourselves. So today I have decided my complacency in being thankful to the Lord for even the littlest of things needs to come to an end. I am going to have a change my focus and be more intentional about telling the Lord the things I am thankful for - everything from the sun shining outside to the love of my husband. I will start with what prompted this blog post to begin with - the beginning of my journal entry from April 7, 2008: "Lord I want to thank you for all the blessings you have brought into our lives. This house we are now living in, the people who will come through the doors of this house for time of fellowship, the church family that we are so blessed to be a part of and the prayers you have answered on behalf of our family." As we come upon our monthly fellowship gathering this weekend I am reminded that while it was my hearts desire to have our house open to have fellowship with others when I originally wrote those words, there were several years where that was not even a possibility. On any given day you never knew what the atmosphere would be like in the house, but more often than not it was tense and hostile, and not at all inviting. I simply did not invite anyone over because I feared what would result from it. In 2008 I was thankful for it before it was even a reality. I can now very happily say that our home is always open to anyone who stops in. Fellowship thrives in our home and is such a blessing to us. So today Lord, I just want to thank you for answered prayer to one of my heart's desires was all those years ago. Thank you that this home is now a place where your Spirit resides and our doors are open to fellowship with others. I am thankful to have a home where Your peace is all around us. It is no longer a house, but truly a home. "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." Colossians 3:15 So what are you thankful for? Share in the comments section below. Copyright 2017 Christine Edwards
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