Sunday, November 28, 2010

Thanks for Everything, Even the Bad Stuff....

Blessed Be Your Name Happy Thanksgiving!

Oops, I am a little bit late, aren't I?

Anyway... I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We did. The Bug and Boo behaved (that almost sounds like a tongue twister), and no one ate so much that they got sick. Anytime it does not involve a trip to the emergency room, it is a good day.

What did YOU have to be thankful for this year?

We have many things in my family to be thankful for: people that needed jobs now have them, cancer has been fought, specialists for other ailments have been sought out, we have a loving family and church family that are very supportive of us, and our children are in good health.

But...

Come on, you knew there would be a big "but" coming sooner or later...

Sometimes it is hard for us to see and focus on the positive aspects of our lives, especially when there are still negative things going on. It is kind of like that old saying "the squeaky wheel gets the grease". In our lives sometimes negative things seem to far out squeak the positive, and what we focus on becomes our outlook and attitude.

But listen to this, I am not telling you to focus on the positive instead of the negative, although I do firmly believe sometimes that helps immensely. In fact, I am telling you to praise God and thank him through everything, including the dark times.

Let us turn to exhibit A, um, I think I have been watching too many cop shows on TV lately. Or you can just listen to "Blessed be your name" by Matt Redman, or Bug's favorite, Veggietales.

Job 1:21  "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart.   The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away, may the name of the LORD be praised."

In case you do not know the back story, Job had just been told over a matter of minutes that he had lost all of his animals (his lively hood, his source of income), his servants, and the last one, all of his children. At the same time.

After hearing all of this, Job had the courage and strength of character in that although he was grieving immensely, he was able to praise and thank God for what he had and the time he had it.

Do we possess this character? Let us put it all into perspective. I am not saying that we are not allowed to be sad or grieve, I just do not want us to take our eyes off of the eternal. God gives us everything. And sometimes, for whatever reasons, he takes them away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

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