Well Friends…
Thinking on the past week …and the word that stands out today is Thanksgiving. Not the feast we had, but the emotion of Thanksgiving. I have been a mess, the tears have flowed so easily the past week and I have been overcome with Gods Goodness to me and my family in such a real way. I am pretty sure I've not lived my life always embracing His goodness. But….this past week….ahhhhh. I have embraced it. If it was waking up with both my babies snuggled up to Shane and I in bed, or watching my babies laugh at The Muppets…….I found myself overcome….and the tears flowed. I stopped this past week….and just took in His Goodness. Sometimes….you just gotta stop and see it….Its There Always. And as I was taking in the smiles and laughter of my home, God has been revealing to me more about this time in my life. More about what matters most. More about the importance of Giving, Honesty, Trust, Faithfulness. More about Living and Loving Real. And as I thought about that Wednesday night and saw people who had come to a church for a Thanksgiving meal….I couldn’t control the tears as I thought of their lives.....and I thought of my baby girl serving food to people who that night would return to a homeless shelter, I have prayed….God I want her to embrace your goodness always. I don’t want her to get caught up in the world….and the mess that I have…I want her to see Your Goodness in Everything. Every blessing….every trial….every Victory….I want her to See You, Seek You, and Love Like You. And as we sat in a theater preparing to watch The Muppets....and the preview was a commercial for St Jude Hospital, and someone said...."These kids dont want the latest toy...or the name brand clothes....they want to be healthy and home with their familes this Thanksgiving". Ugh...I lost it then too. And Thursday as we prayed together as a family, I looked around and thought….my cup runneth over. All that I have….I owe to Him. And through Him, This is what Thanksgiving is.
And there are many scriptures of Thanks that people spoke about across this world on Thanksgiving. But this is the one that God put on my heart. Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. The peace of Christ. I know in the back of all our heads were the ones that werent there with us this year. But there was peace. Their was an attitude of gratitude. Grateful for who was there….in that moment. I glanced around the room and saw the smiles and the hugs of my loved ones…and I was grateful. No issues….no junk….just grateful. The past year for our families has been filled with many tops…and many valleys….okay..lets just say it…. trenches. Can we actually say?? Its been the best year and the worst year too? But through it all…I can say…God has never left us. And because of that….we are still standing. We didn’t stay in the valleys…because of Him….the dark trenches didn’t close up around us….Because of Him. And there were smiles and happiness…pain and sorrow. But now….today….we have peace by the Grace of God. And as I sat and listened to a family member tell me of a friend of theirs that they lost this past weekend…not the way most of us think of losing a friend….but lost because they stood on the side of right. I couldn’t help be reminded. We cant change the past, we cant change people…or their hearts….but we can trust in God. We can let go, pray, trust in Him and learn to be better and more loving people because of the valleys. That’s what Thanksgiving is about. Letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts….and be Thankful….for one body. Not only for our physical church body…..but The Body of Christ that we have been called into. HIS BODY. Not yours, not mine…but His.
So today….Just a friendly reminder (to maybe just me)….Not only to Be Thankful….Not just know the Peace of Christ…......but let it RULE our hearts.
You can make the difference
Love you all…..
Too blessed to be stressed…….
Michelle
