Choosing To Be Thankful

It hasn’t always been easy to be thankful this year.  The overwhelming changes to our lifestyles have kept us focused on our “rights”, our health. and for some even survival.  Patience is wearing thin among the masses; and lack of patience doesn’t naturally lead to gratefulness.

But while most modern-day Americans have not faced the continual testing of our fortitude until now, there were certainly generations before us who encountered much greater challenges than we have had in 2020.  And there are countless people around the world who are still experiencing worse things than we will ever have to endure.

 

My family’s visit to a third-world country many years ago forever etched in my heart a visible example of this principle of truth: being thankful is a choice and has little to do with one’s life circumstances.  As we lived in relative luxury during our short time there compared to our new friends and neighbors, we witnessed their hearts being full of gratitude and joy every single day we were there.  It didn’t matter that they lived in near poverty and were continually trying to recover from a devastating hurricane.  They chose to be truly grateful for God’s work in their lives and found joy in the small, everyday things.

 

We have the same opportunity – maybe even more this year because none of our lives have seemed completely “put together” in 2020.  Making the choice to be thankful takes intentionality; it’s far easier to give in to the negativity around us and feel sorry for ourselves.  But what our Central American friends taught us firsthand is what the apostle Paul wrote about in Philippians 4:4-7: thankfulness and joy go hand in hand, and the peace that comes from God is a result we can count on when we choose to rejoice and give thanks.

 

I don’t know what your situation is this Thanksgiving Day.  Maybe you’re all alone, or maybe you are with family or friends.  Chances are things are not “normal” for most of us.  But having a grateful heart doesn’t depend on having things a certain way; it depends on how we look at life’s challenges and whether we choose to see the glass half empty or half full.  Let’s choose to focus on our blessings – which are many – and not our troubles, even if they are also many.  And let’s not do it for just one day.  Let’s agree to be intentional about choosing to be grateful every day.  “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 

 

 

 

The Winner That Matters

I didn’t expect to be in this same place again.  Four years ago during the last presidential campaign, I posted what I felt God had laid on my heart to say about the idea of voting for one of the two candidates.  It probably wasn’t my most popular post; but unfortunately little has changed in the last four years. 

 

You’re welcome to go back and read it if you want: https://faithmeanderings.blogspot.com/2016/08/to-vote-or-not-to-vote.html.  But here are the character issues I identified in the values, beliefs, and actions of the candidates then that we’re still facing in tomorrow’s election:

 

Pride and arrogance

Lying

Prejudice and nationalism

Anger, name-calling, and bullying

Self-protectionism

 

As a voter, I find my conscience troubled and conflicted in ways I could not have foreseen when I voted in my first presidential election just two months after turning eighteen.  Our world has changed so much that it is nearly impossible to decide how best to please God when I vote.  How can I vote for either candidate when both seem so deeply immoral in some of their policies as well as in some of their character traits?  There is no longer a clear-cut line between good and evil in America.  And it’s hard not to be concerned about what type of country my grandchildren will be living in when the time comes for them to cast their first votes. 

 

So what’s a Christian to do in a post-Christian, post-truth nation?  What does responsible citizenship look like when it’s time to vote in an election?  I don’t have a better answer than I did four years ago, but I think it’s still important to consider.  And looking to God for the answer is definitely a better plan than engaging with people about politics on social media.

 

Here’s the good news: if I am more interested in obeying God and trusting him than I am in anything else, politics and elections lose their significance.  No matter who wins or loses, God is still sovereign.  No one is in a position of power without God’s permission – even people who seem to be more evil than good (Romans 13:1).  And no matter how evil the world becomes, God is still capable of protecting his own and advancing his kingdom as he sees fit.  And guess what?  America’s future does not impact the completion of God’s purposes for this world.  Evil has already been defeated, and we know who wins in the end (Colossians 2:15; Revelation 19-22)!  I’m really thankful that my own fate and the fate of my grandchildren doesn’t rest in the hands of politicians, but is already determined by the King of the universe!  He is the true winner and the only one who really matters.

 

What's the Secret?

We were getting ready to order our meal at a restaurant celebration planned by our sons to honor our 40 years of marriage when the server asked us a question and said she would give us time to think about the answer.  “What’s your secret (for staying together that long)?” were her words, and we began to ponder how we would answer.

A couple months earlier, when faced with quarantine time together at home 24/7, I had begun to think about similar things.  Retirement is closer than ever but not yet imminent for my husband, and we both decided during stay-at-home time that we weren’t quite ready for that reality!  I began to contemplate why that was so.  While I had no thoughts of wanting out of my marriage, I discovered that I’m not willing to give up my comfortable self-imposed schedule or my alone time yet.

At the beginning of our marriage, we were anxious to spend every minute together, and we focused our lives on shared interests.  But marriage doesn’t feel the same after 40 years as it did at the beginning.  Although we have always been very family-oriented and equally enjoyed our children and now our grandchildren together, life responsibilities have focused us in different directions from each other for nearly all of our marriage.  One of the fallacies of the Western model for retirement is this: after creating separateness for most of their lives, older couples are suddenly supposed to enjoy spending every minute together.  But neither of us is exactly the same person as when we got married, so this might not come naturally.

Then I realized that we didn’t unify ourselves when we were young marrieds, God did.  He is the only reason we have lasted for 40 years, and he can and will continue to unify us in our twilight years if we continue to trust him fully.  Without God, we are helpless and hopeless; but nothing is impossible with God.  In fact, he is even able to reveal himself and do his work in the middle of our sinful mistakes and selfishness.  The things that could serve to separate us are the very tools he uses to draw us closer to each other . . . if we let him.

Marriage is hard work, but thankfully we don’t labor alone.  No, today doesn’t feel like our wedding day; and life has thrown us some unanticipated curveballs along the way.  But here’s how we answered our restaurant server’s question: First of all, God has always been at the center of our relationship and marriage; without him, we might not still be here forty years later.  Secondly, divorce has never been an option for either of us; we’ve made the choice to stay with each other no matter how difficult the other person can seem at times.  And thirdly, we have allowed each other to grow and become different people – even when that growth leads us down paths we never envisioned in the beginning.  

If we trust God, then even change is part of the story he is writing; and we have always wanted to be willing vessels to be used by him – both together and separately.  As we prayed in a song at our wedding, may our life together be a sermon from him to those around us.  And may he continue to write our story in the future for his glory alone.