But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob,

And He who formed you, O Israel,

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name; you are Mine!

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they will not overflow you,

When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.

(Isiah 43:1-2, New American Standard Bible)

 

Moving Forward with Thanksgiving

           

            I saw a card with two dinosaurs sitting aside watching the ark that had obviously pulled away earlier. One dinosaur turned to the other and said, “Was this the day?”

            Sometimes life’s problems are often magnified when we believe our ship has sailed; we’ve been left behind; and there’s no hope.    

My fury with God raged. Life had not turned out as I had wanted, and since I had done all I knew to do, it must be His fault. Nothing helped as the feeling of abandonment deepened.

            It was a seemingly innocent visit with a friend that caused a shift in my thinking. Her pain magnified one of my life’s blessings, and for the first time in a while a silent thanks went up. Life shifted even more a few days later. Sitting in an airconditioned home on a hot July day while watching a news report showing people standing in line in Chicago waiting to receive a fan so they could get relief from the unusual heat wave gave me pause. In those moments, I realized air conditioning was not a given, but a gift, and again, thanks went to God. These two experiences changed my life’s focus from the pain to the blessings.  Daily it became important to find five blessings for which to be thankful and then the list extended to ten things. As the gratefulness increased, the anger toward God decreased.

            This didn’t take away the disappointments, but focusing on the good changed my perceptions and helped me to move forward through the sadness.

 

            Thought: The memories of this difficult chapter in my life, brought to mind a story I read some time ago.  The retired school teacher wrote of the experience of medical bills forcing her out of her home and with no other place to go, she and her dog had to live in her car.

             I faced the disappointment of unmet dreams, while the teacher lost her home, but, and this is important, those setbacks were not the end of the story for either of us.

            With time and experiences my disappointments and sadness have been replaced by a wonderful life. Is it perfect? Of course not. Is life good? You bet—it was one worth fighting for and I look forward to the future with hope.

            I don’t know what happened to the teacher but the fact that she wrote a story and sold it to a major magazine tells me she was able to climb out of the abyss of a bad financial situation.

            As we go into the holiday season and your friends’ lives seem all merry and bright, it’s easy to feel left behind without any hope. I don’t want to get preachy, but think it is important to stress that God really does have a purpose and plan for your life, but we have to press forward and not give up. Chuck Colson was a hard-hitting politician who went to prison only to emerge and start Prison Fellowship. Though he made mistakes, and paid the price, God was not finished. His prison ministry has influenced and ministered to countless individuals.

            God won’t give up on you, so please don’t give up on the unseen possibilities waiting for your participation. Maybe find five blessings to claim and remember, the light’s still shinning.

             


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