A Shared Faith

We don’t attend the same church, and we don’t live in the same town. In fact, we’ve never even lived in the same state. But the bond between my grandchildren and me is based on something deeper than physical proximity and shared experiences, even if they don’t completely understand that yet. We have the bond of a shared faith; and on a recent Skype call with one of my granddaughters, there was a special moment.

Three generations (my son, his daughter, and I) joining together in an impromptu hymn of praise ("Great is Thy Faithfulness") to the One we all love and trust. At age eight, my granddaughter doesn’t have a lot of personal experience yet with God’s faithfulness; but my son and I have many stories we can (and do) tell about the God we have each individually come to know as completely trustworthy.

Stories about God’s blessings in our lives and his sometimes miraculous provision for all of our needs; stories about God’s gift of love in our lives and his guidance for major life decisions like marriage, jobs, housing, and moving; stories about answered prayers and God’s sufficient grace through difficult times, including healing of illnesses like cancers and a liver transplant; stories about four adoptions that were masterminded by God; stories of God’s strength and constant presence with us; and stories of spiritual growth.  So many stories of God’s faithfulness.

Sometimes I get discouraged about the physical distance between my grandchildren’s home and mine. We are separated by four states and over 1800 miles. To be honest, it is sometimes easy to be envious of friends who get to see their grandchildren regularly. There is too much time between hugs, and I miss the physical touch. And while I am thankful for modern technology, Skype can’t replace being with those we love in person.

But most of the time I remember that these kinds of thoughts are not a good place for my mind to stay, and I heed the words of 2 Corinthians 10:5 to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”. I am also reminded of what 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says: “give thanks in all circumstances”, as well as the words of Philippians 4:8: “ . . . whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things”.

So during this Thanksgiving week, I want to count my blessings, not focus on what I wish was different. How grateful I am for children who love God and grandchildren who are learning what that means! And for all the stories from our past that recap God’s constant and continuous faithfulness to us. May we all take time, especially this week, to count our blessings and thank the gracious God from whom all blessings flow.

 

For This Child I Prayed

Today is Veteran’s Day – a day when most people in our country are taking time out to celebrate those who have served in our military, many of whom have fought for our freedom. But I have celebrated something different for the last three and a half decades . . . the birthday of my second son.

He wasn’t due until November 19^th, but he decided to make his appearance a week early. His unexpected arrival gave me a glimpse into what life with Brad would be like. Unpredictable, unconventional, and undeniably unique. There hasn’t been a dull moment since he showed up ahead of schedule 36 years ago today!

After nearly two years of infertility, it goes without saying that this child was incredibly wanted, fervently prayed for, and deeply loved. We felt incredibly blessed to be given the opportunity to parent another child. And while his natural strong will was extremely challenging at times, there were a lot of joyful times as well. As soon as he could talk (which was very early), he provided our entire family with many moments of laughter.

Our adventurous son, Brad traveled to Illinois to play college football; and he completed a Master’s degree while studying on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, Israel. He’s climbed some mountains and tried a lot of things the rest of our family hasn’t. At the age of twelve, he was the one who socialized and connected the best with the people in Honduras on our family’s mission trip.  

 

  

There is much to celebrate with any child. But today I am most grateful for Brad’s hard-fought battles to maintain his relationship with God through many ups and downs . . . for his choice to trust God during the long wait for his wife, Dani      . . . and for his continued commitment to obey God and bring glory to him. And I am grateful for the faithfulness of God and the way he meets each of us right where we are and lovingly molds us into what he knows is best for us.

Happy Birthday to Brad, and Happy Veteran’s Day!

 

Starting November With Thanksgiving

It always happens overnight. One minute there are jack-o-lanterns and trick-or-treaters, and the next minute there are Christmas trees. The stores and the advertisements all leapfrog from Halloween to Christmas in the blink of an eye. It didn’t used to be this way, but Thanksgiving has lost its place in the Fall holiday lineup.

But there have always been three stages of Fall decorating at our house. I haven’t decorated for Halloween since my children left home, but the first stage of Fall begins in late September with pumpkins, scarecrows, and brightly colored leaves. When the weather starts to chill in October, spicy candles and pumpkin desserts add to the cozy Fall feeling in our home.

The next stage usually happens on the first day of November. This is when turkeys, cornucopia, and other Thanksgiving decorations come out. There are several plaques or tabletop knick-knacks that carry essentially the same message, reminding us to “give thanks” or “count our blessings”. We spend most of the month focusing on the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

The final Fall decorating stage at our house usually begins the day after Thanksgiving, when the colors of autumn are removed and the trimmings of Christmas start to appear. Since I absolutely love Christmas and have been gathering decorations for a lot of years, this process takes over a week to fully complete. But it never starts before Thanksgiving Day is over.

There is no right way to celebrate holidays, and I understand why stores focus only on holidays that earn them money. Thanksgiving isn’t really a day that they can capitalize on. But I do wish that we would spend more time focusing on the message of Thanksgiving – to truly spend time being thankful for all of our blessings. Thanksgiving is definitely intended to be about more than football and overeating and Christmas shopping deals.

No, we don’t have to do any specific things surrounding Thanksgiving Day in order to truly be thankful. What really matters is our hearts. And we can have a “gratitude attitude” any day of the year. But since we have a national holiday about being thankful, why don’t we make an extra effort this year to focus our attention for the month of November on all of the blessings we have . . . and to spend time expressing our thanks to the One from whom all blessings flow. 

Let’s choose to remember the importance of being grateful before we rush into the biggest season of celebration and joy. We just might discover that we have even more to rejoice about!