Oh the irony of life! God surely has a sense of humor and sometimes I don’t quite find it so amusing. Thus the title of this blog. Usually Sunday afternoon finds me working on the upcoming devotion for the homeless ministry. This Wednesday I am planning to teach on thankfulness. The thing is, it’s been a frustrating day. Whether it is the real struggle of miscommunication, trying in vain to see power points that I can’t see, not able to follow worship music in church…. Etc….. and here I am working on a devotion about thankfulness. Okay Lord! Help me be teachable so I can in turn teach others. The struggle is real!
Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful but it honestly takes a shift of perspective. I’m sitting here making notes for Wednesdays devotion and my iPad starts doing this odd “jiggle scroll movement” on its own, over and over. Mind you… it only does this on ZOOM and guess what? I’m typically zoomed in when I’m online so I can see. I’m actually laughing at the moment at the irony.
Let me share a short bit from my notes for Wednesday: I Thessalonians 5:18, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. (NLT) In Philippians 4:6 the Apostle Paul links prayer and thanksgiving. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Philippians 4:6 (NLT)
Thankfulness starts in the heart and prayer is so important in addressing heart issues. For example; When we take the focus off the problem and choose to thank God , our attitudes can shift for the better We can address whatever we are facing by praying about it and thanking God. If you know what I deal with day to day , all I can say is, Lord take the wheel! I’m done!” Miscommunication is frustrating. Technology issues are frustrating. My cochlear implant battery actually died while sitting here on the porch. I normally immediately change it but it’s kind of peaceful sitting here in utter silence.
I’ve been praying about the church situation. I love the church we’ve gone to for the last several years but right now circumstances have us trying to find one closer to home since my husband takes our son to work Sunday mornings. If you know me, I can get lost in true worship. I can often times recognize songs by the musical chords before the lyrics even start (thanks to my cochlear implant processor) But the non traditional churches we’ve visited are so loud, with heavy bass and drums, I am unable to follow. The lyrics were up on the screen today. We sat on the second row. I told Ron it is so weird the way I see (or don’t see). I see some of the letters but I can’t make out the words. (Optic nerves are too small so all the stimulus doesn’t get through). The music is so overly LOUD it distorts things to my hearing with my implant. (that’s most churches) Tears actually spilled over in my frustration today. (Just briefly. Sometimes you’ve got to let it out.) God knows. It’s just a weird season right now. BUT…. I’ve got to be thankful. God help me find the silver liner during this time.
So that is where I am today. Linking prayer and thanksgiving, making my requests known to God. He knows anyway. Thanking Him for this coming week, this coming devotion, thanking Him for working all these things out according to His Will and pleasure. As you prepare for Thanksgiving week, make time to reflect on God’s goodness and faithfulness. Take time to include others who may not be fortunate to have someone to share a meal with. There are many ways to reach out to others. When you bless others, God returns the blessing to you in some way.
Happy Thanksgiving week to you all!
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