It is a good thing to work indoors when the weather outside is frightful.
Paper cuts HURT.
I just made the best cookies in the history of cookies.
Package delivery people deserve many stars in their crowns this month.
Cat hair in the eyes is the worst.
Little reindeer made from boss corks are pretty much the cutest, but I will not be making any after hearing the process to make them and how long it took.
And I am grateful for it all…except for the paper cut and cat hair.
This was sitting on my dad’s computer desk last night. He has not been sleeping well lately. His daytime thoughts and focus have been on news that he watches and reads and listens to…of our world, government, and culture. Delores sent this prayer to him many months ago, and yesterday, Dad was determined to find it so he could focus on it and pray these words when he cannot sleep.
There is a sentence there that I absolutely love. “What is too much for me to bear, is not too much for You.” Repeat. And repeat. And repeat again.
I have a wonderful friend who sent me an email recently – and she is very much in the same box as my Dad. Current news traps her in despair, and as she described it, “a funk.”
Over the past ten years, my views have drastically changed, but my faith has grown. I see the world so different these days. I know there are so many versions, but this is pretty much it:
I used to stand on that side, looking at the same world and seeing it from that perspective. Now I stand on this side, looking at the same world, and I see it from a completely different view.
As I read my friend’s words, I was awed by how we live in the same world, our faith aligns for the most part, we both trust and depend on God and consider ourselves to be dedicated followers of Christ, and yet, she sees a 6, and I see a 9. I sat and listened to my Dad last night as he described the corruption and dire status of our government – he also sees a 6, and I see a 9.
Two people can look at the same tree, but one sees it in a shadow while the other sees it in the sunshine. It just depends where you are standing as to how you view the exact same tree.
Similarly, two people will read the same passage of scripture and take away a different message. I actually love that about the Word of God. We can read it over and over again and always learn something new. As we age, our perspective changes. As we gain wisdom or go through life-altering events, God speaks to us through His Word in ways we could not have captured at other moments of our journey on earth.
Changing my perspective, my view, has been lifechanging for me. Politically and theologically, I used to be all the way to one side of the spectrum. When my life fell apart and I became “one of those people,” I was able to see life from a different angle. Black was no longer black, and white was no longer white. What we THINK we know and what we THINK we see, looks completely different depending where we stand, how we fill our minds, what “angle” we listen to…
Jesus was standing there. The woman was standing just a few feet away. And the Pharisees were standing between them. The view was very different from each of the three angles. One view was clearly correct, depending on where you were standing.
Judgment, following the law.
Condemnation, shame, guilt.
Or…grace, forgiveness, open arms.
John 8:1-11 continues to teach me, 11 years later. Today, I am grateful that He is the potter and I am the clay. I am not hardened with the angle in which I view the world.
Today, I am grateful to no longer stand in the same place I used to be, looking down at that line in the sand.
Today, I am grateful that what is too much for me to bear is not too much for God.
Today, I am grateful for the way The Message paraphrases 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:
So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.
Today, I am grateful for small potatoes.
Today, I am grateful for grace, forgiveness, and open arms.
Today, I am grateful for the ability to “see that of God in every man,” and I am grateful for the wisdom of my brother and sister-in-law and the patience they have had over all these years, quietly teaching this Quaker perspective until it finally sunk in. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish, but I just need to “adjust my angle” and turn my eyes upon Jesus…and the things of earth will grow strangely dim.
Today, I am grateful for a positive perspective about our world, our government, and the promise of a brighter day.
Today, I am really grateful I am not in charge of the world.
Finally, today’s calendar on my desk includes this quote, and I am still very grateful for this desk calendar Michelle gave to me several years ago: This is the great mystery of Christmas that continues to give us comfort and consolation: we are not alone on our journey. The God of love who gave us life sent us the only Son to be with us at all times and in all places, so that we never have to feel lost in our struggles but always can trust that God walks with us. – Henri J.M. Nouwen
I was studying a pharmaceutical website this morning that had this picture at the bottom of one of its pages. For some reason, I was mesmerized and the picture alone brought me a sense of peace and calm and a feeling of receiving a gift.
When I see sunrises, or when I walk out of the office building at 5 pm and see a brilliant sunset, I always try to verbally out loud say, “Thank you.” These are gifts from God that are right there if we will just stop to recognize.
A former niece of mine, whom I shall claim forever because I love her dearly, often posts the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets from her farm, and each time she shares her view with the rest of us on social media, I stop and whisper, “Thank you.” Even though I am seeing it through her lens, it is still breath stopping.
*****
Today, I need a sunrise of hope and a sunset of peace.
Today, I am grateful for the promise of new days to try again.
Today, I am grateful for beautiful closure and the reminder that the worst thing is never the last thing.
Today, I am grateful for the ability to just stop and reflect.
Today, I am just grateful to be in the palm of His hand.
rhondaisgrateful 