I am talking to myself as I write to you. I had such a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. My sister-in-law and my nephew traveled to the West Coast from the Midwest to spend it with us. It had been about 2 years since we saw them last. We had a great meal. Everyone is relatively healthy. We have a warm home in which to live. We have comfortable beds on which to sleep. We have an amazing family, a wonderful church family, and friends that live all over the country. I could go on, but you get the idea…we are blessed!
My husband, sister-in-law, and I reminisced about special times with my late mother-in-law. Memories of the juiciest turkey I have ever tasted, pumpkin bread, and strawberry cake filled our lips. Hands down, I think she should have been the next Food Network Star with her southern cooking. My mother-in-law passed away suddenly 4 months before my father who died just before Christmas in 2015. That was a rough time, to say the least. Anyway, after Thanksgiving dinner, the Christmas music began, which reminded me of Christmas’ past with my mom, my grandparents, my great grandparents, and my Great Aunt Annie. Aunt Annie made CD’s of Christmas music for all the households within our large family. When I was little, she used to bake up a storm-chocolate chip cookies, Divinity, and all kinds of Christmas-themed goodies. There were Christmas tins and bowls of an assortment of nuts armed with nutcrackers that were strategically positioned around her house.
Before I knew it, my thoughts turned from beautiful memories to sadness about how times have changed as family members have passed away. As I started thinking about how time is short and how we ought to live our lives with intention, I quickly became angry as I thought of how I have wasted a lot of time. Time that I cannot get back. Time spent on that which was not eternal. And just like that, I was complaining about this and that and was angry at the world. It would be unbelievable if it were not for the reminder, by the Holy Spirit, that enemy of our souls is constantly waging war (a very personal war) against us in various forms to get us to turn away from Christ Jesus. I feel somewhat silly for even sharing this, but I also know that there is nothing new under the sun-I know that I am not alone in this.
So, what happened after that? The Holy Spirit led me to pray-to pray and ask the Lord to help me. I was honest with Him about how I felt but also noted that I know He has been so kind to me and my family. I needed help to refocus my attention on Him. He helped me.
He brought to mind a sister in Christ who has a debilitating disease but refuses to waste a moment in self-pity. Instead, she uses her situation/her platform to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and the goodness of God in her suffering. She shares how His Word gives her peace, comfort in grief, and strength moment by moment.
He led me to watch a (live streamed sermon) preached by an Elder of our former church. He spoke of replacing human anxiety with God’s peace. He shared personal examples of difficulty while going to the Lord in prayer. He emphasized the importance of reading, meditating, and standing on His Word. He encouraged us to listen to music-songs like “It Is Well.” And to do this with thanksgiving.
He led me to share my thoughts with my husband. My hubby prayed with me, listened to me vent, and then gently reminded me that I have no reason to complain. As I thought about all that I was complaining about, I was convicted and moved to start thanking God for all my blessings which, by the way, are too numerous to name. The greatest blessing in my life is Christ. He took on all my sin and God’s wrath that came along with all of that, in my place, so that I may be declared righteous before our Holy God. The fact that I could enjoy family and food on Thanksgiving Day is a gift that came through the cross. Moreover, the fact that I can even complain about anything is also “gift.” You see, Ephesians 2:1-3 describes me and you, before placing faith in Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, like this:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the price of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
We deserve every bit of God’s wrath because we are by nature children of wrath. We sin continually. But, God in His mercy, has spared us of what we deserve and instead, He has given us good gifts despite ourselves. So, our “complaints” are indicative of the fact that we have experienced good and wonderful things and not-so-good/not-so-wonderful things. And the not-so-wonderful things do not compare to what we actually deserve. And for those who know Christ as Savior, we are reminded of the words of Paul in Romans 8:18:
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
The horrible stuff of this life does not even compare to what we will experience in Heaven. So, give thanks. Praise God for all that He has done. Write a list in your journal of those things for which you are thankful. Write notes of appreciation to the special people in your life. If you have an abundance of something, share it with another. And do this when things are great and when things are not. Because He is worthy.
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