That is probably an oxymoron calling people and blessings the really good "stuff"! This month several of my Facebook friends have had a daily entry of something they are thankful for. I guess that's what's got me started on thinking of what I am thankful for. So I pause right here to say, "thank you" if you are one of those friends who've faithfully entered something you've been thankful for during this month.
Do you know the expression, "You don't know what you've got till it's gone."? This month has been an astonishing reminder of that expression. Don't get me wrong, I know that we are blessed way beyond anything we could ever earn or even deserve. God has been so good to my family and I that I feel unworthy and even at times feel guilty.
What I am referring to in that expression, "You don't know what you've got till it's gone,is the devastation from Typhoon Haiyan that hit the Phillippines. On November 8, 2013 what has been known as the deadliest storm to ever make landfall occurred. The pictures, the scenes and the stories are forever etched in my memory. My heart has been heavy as I pray daily for these people. They had next to nothing and the little bit they did have was destroyed.
I think it's in times like this that what really matters in this life becomes very clear. What really matters are the people and the relationships we have, not houses, cars or anything that money can buy. When I saw parents stricken with panic and grief because they had not been able to locate their son or daughter it just pulled at my heartstrings! To wake up one day and find your home in a pile of rubble is one thing. To wake up and find out your spouse or your son or daughter, or any number of relatives or friends cannot be found and there is little hope, they will be found is entirely a different thing.
This is getting really heavy and if you're in a hurry you're probably pealing out about now or have already deemed this too depressing and have moved on. I'm guilty of such actions so I get it. BUT I do want to pause right here and say that even in tragedy there is good to be found. The enemy of our souls would want us to believe that this is the end. That we may as well give up because there is nothing good to be found in this tragedy. He would want us to curse God or blame Him and have us focus on the heartache.
To coin another expression, "You are what you eat.". Really a better way of defining who we are is by defining us by what we think about. Rather than how we feed our body, how do we feed our soul? When bad things happen my natural inclination is to dwell on it. Thinking through the scenario, thinking about how I could have done something differently or just running it over and over in my mind like it's on continuous replay. But as a Christian God has been changing me! Wish I could say I've arrived in this area, but none the less He is changing me day by day!
It is by choice that I yield my natural inclination over to Him to help me look for God's goodness in people, things and events. Now, back to Typhoon Haiyan, in the news I saw how people in the Philippines were saying, "How could God have allowed this to happen?" And to be completely honest with you, I've had a hard time wrapping my mind around that question. There is no easy, pat answer that will be a cure all end all. BUT I can say this, as a result of this horrific tragedy people are looking to God for answers and for help. I didn't hear about this in the news, no I heard about it from a dear lady from our church who's son and daughter in law are missionaries to the Philippines through the Church of the Nazarene. She says, that for her entire life the Philippine people have never been this way. Her daughter in law informed her that people are saying, "we have turned away from God and now we need to turn back to Him".
All I can say is may God be praised! In this tragedy people are seeking Him! I ran across a quote the other day that was new to me. "Sometimes while we're waiting for God to do something "big" we miss out seeing Him in a thousand little details throughout our lives."
Simply and honestly looking for God in the details is a little like playing I Spy. It does not come naturally and it takes God's power at work in me to look for the good things God is doing. As for thankfulness, I could list people and events in my life that God has used to shape me into the person that I am, and I could truly list a whole lot of material things that God has blessed me with! Still don't know why He's been so good to me! BUT I am so incredibly thankful for His goodness in my life! I'll finish with this passage that looks for God's goodness in the midst of tragedy.
Lamentations 3:20-26
"I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:
The faithful love of the LORD never ends!
Great is his faithfulness;
His mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, "The LORD is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!"
The LORD is good to those who depend on him,
to those who search for him.
So it is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the LORD."
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