PREACHING TO MYSELF
PREACHING TO MYSELF
Ephesians 5:20, Paul writes, "Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Remember that verse from last week? Where I talked about how I have so much to be thankful for, but don't always have the right perspective on things, which can make being thankful ALWAYS and in EVERYTHING tough? I don't know if you have ever experienced this, but often, when God lays something on my heart to share with someone else, it is because He is preparing me for what is to come in my life. Can I just tell you, I'm not always the biggest fan of that. I'd my rather be the sharer of encouraging things than the recipient needing encouragement. Aren't we all like that? (Please tell me I'm not alone😂)
As many of you know, my dad passed away this August and it's been hard. I miss my dad, but it's also tough to see my mom walk through grief. I find that since walking through my own grief, it makes me more empathetic to others, knowing the path they have to walk through. We all walk our own walk, but there are similarities to what we all share. So this Thanksgiving wasn't an easy one. I have my own grief I'm still walking through and then seeing my mom, siblings and kids grieve...it's just hard. And exhausting. Grief is sometimes a full time job! We had a good Thanksgiving and to be completely forthright, when we got to my mom's house after Thanksgiving, I was grateful I was going to get to go to bed and turn my brain off. So, when my youngest son asked me if he could go to the mall for some black Friday sales with his friends, I dismissed the inner voice inside me that wanted to tell him no. I argued with myself that it's been a long week for all of us and he should go and have fun with his friends.
I had been staying with my mom all of last week and decided to spend one more night with her. No one needs to go to bed alone on their first holiday and wake up the next morning alone. So I stayed. I had no idea my son got up super early that next morning to go shopping with friends. It also happened to be a weird rainy morning in Phoenix. When they got to the mall, they found a pretty close parking spot and went in for a couple of hours. I got a call from Joshua around ten o'clock saying his car was missing. I smiled, thinking that he was just confused about where he left his car. I told him to get a security guard and have them drive him around the parking lot to find his car and I went back to enjoying a good Christmas movie.
Imagine my surprise when he calls thirty minutes later to say that his car is truly missing and that the security guard told him that his make and model are often stolen as they are easy to break into. Sure enough, they watched the camera footage and someone gets in his car and drives away. However, because it was rainy, the footage is blurry. Did I mention I bought this car for Joshua in August and that he loved this little four door car after driving around in a pick up truck for two years? This was not a new or great car by any means. The doors in the back didn't open without help and it was a little banged up and old, but it was a solid, good car. I should also mention that I have three male drivers under the age of twenty five so my car insurance is like a mortgage, which is why I only took out liability on it to try and save money. We are now without a car and without insurance to pay for a new car. AND, he had just moved his beloved beanie baby frog, the mascot of his truck, Smoochy to his car. He thought about tweeting out to whoever stole his car that he would pay ransom for the frog, LOL.
It is such a good thing that I am so super spiritual and immediately began to sing praise songs with Joshua and call all my friends and tell them how thankful I was that God allowed this new obstacle to enter into my life! My perspective of the whole situation was so large that I completely trusted...ok, not so much.
The usual fear and anxiety reared it's head. Fear often times has a way of coming out in anger in my life. I found myself being angry at whoever stole the car, at myself for not thinking ahead to insure it fully and Joshua for driving there in the first place. And above all, I found myself angry once again at God, who knowing what I have been through and seeing that I am a single mom with limited funds, decided to let this enter into our lives!! I might have made a few panicky calls and sent a few panicky text messages, when, wouldn't you know it, the blog from last Tuesday that I had just written came flooding into my mind. I could hear God remind me of the study that I did of Paul, knowing that before he wrote the words to give thanks always, he was singing praises to God from his jail cell. And didn't I already have so much to be thankful for? I'm not sitting in a rotting jail cell. I'm not imprisoned. I am not hungry (stuffed is more appropriate) and I am well. Beyond that, my son is well. He was not in the car when someone tried to steal it and thus not put into any kind of danger. And then God reminded me of a hard financial time that Greg and I walked through together. I was crying over things we were losing and he gently said to me, "Lori, those are just things. They can be replaced. Think about the things we have that can't be replaced. We are truly blessed." Oh. My. Goodness. It helped changed my perspective then and reminded me of the right perspective now! I started thanking God right then for the bountiful blessings in my life.
That doesn't mean I haven't been tempted to worry about my circumstances this week. To combat my worry, I remind myself of all the things God has seen me through in my life. This is no different. Now I need to make this an example to my children of how the Lord will provide! I am already telling them of how God has provided in the past and how we can be expectant for Him to do it in our future. It doesn't mean He's going to turn our lemon of a car into a Maserati, or even return Smoochy, but I know He will provide and I can't wait for Him to begin to teach them that He is faithful in every situation! Thank you for letting me share about being thankful in all things last week so I could preach it to myself this week in my beautifully broken life!
Ephesians 5:20, Paul writes, "Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Remember that verse from last week? Where I talked about how I have so much to be thankful for, but don't always have the right perspective on things, which can make being thankful ALWAYS and in EVERYTHING tough? I don't know if you have ever experienced this, but often, when God lays something on my heart to share with someone else, it is because He is preparing me for what is to come in my life. Can I just tell you, I'm not always the biggest fan of that. I'd my rather be the sharer of encouraging things than the recipient needing encouragement. Aren't we all like that? (Please tell me I'm not alone😂)
As many of you know, my dad passed away this August and it's been hard. I miss my dad, but it's also tough to see my mom walk through grief. I find that since walking through my own grief, it makes me more empathetic to others, knowing the path they have to walk through. We all walk our own walk, but there are similarities to what we all share. So this Thanksgiving wasn't an easy one. I have my own grief I'm still walking through and then seeing my mom, siblings and kids grieve...it's just hard. And exhausting. Grief is sometimes a full time job! We had a good Thanksgiving and to be completely forthright, when we got to my mom's house after Thanksgiving, I was grateful I was going to get to go to bed and turn my brain off. So, when my youngest son asked me if he could go to the mall for some black Friday sales with his friends, I dismissed the inner voice inside me that wanted to tell him no. I argued with myself that it's been a long week for all of us and he should go and have fun with his friends.
I had been staying with my mom all of last week and decided to spend one more night with her. No one needs to go to bed alone on their first holiday and wake up the next morning alone. So I stayed. I had no idea my son got up super early that next morning to go shopping with friends. It also happened to be a weird rainy morning in Phoenix. When they got to the mall, they found a pretty close parking spot and went in for a couple of hours. I got a call from Joshua around ten o'clock saying his car was missing. I smiled, thinking that he was just confused about where he left his car. I told him to get a security guard and have them drive him around the parking lot to find his car and I went back to enjoying a good Christmas movie.
Imagine my surprise when he calls thirty minutes later to say that his car is truly missing and that the security guard told him that his make and model are often stolen as they are easy to break into. Sure enough, they watched the camera footage and someone gets in his car and drives away. However, because it was rainy, the footage is blurry. Did I mention I bought this car for Joshua in August and that he loved this little four door car after driving around in a pick up truck for two years? This was not a new or great car by any means. The doors in the back didn't open without help and it was a little banged up and old, but it was a solid, good car. I should also mention that I have three male drivers under the age of twenty five so my car insurance is like a mortgage, which is why I only took out liability on it to try and save money. We are now without a car and without insurance to pay for a new car. AND, he had just moved his beloved beanie baby frog, the mascot of his truck, Smoochy to his car. He thought about tweeting out to whoever stole his car that he would pay ransom for the frog, LOL.
It is such a good thing that I am so super spiritual and immediately began to sing praise songs with Joshua and call all my friends and tell them how thankful I was that God allowed this new obstacle to enter into my life! My perspective of the whole situation was so large that I completely trusted...ok, not so much.
The usual fear and anxiety reared it's head. Fear often times has a way of coming out in anger in my life. I found myself being angry at whoever stole the car, at myself for not thinking ahead to insure it fully and Joshua for driving there in the first place. And above all, I found myself angry once again at God, who knowing what I have been through and seeing that I am a single mom with limited funds, decided to let this enter into our lives!! I might have made a few panicky calls and sent a few panicky text messages, when, wouldn't you know it, the blog from last Tuesday that I had just written came flooding into my mind. I could hear God remind me of the study that I did of Paul, knowing that before he wrote the words to give thanks always, he was singing praises to God from his jail cell. And didn't I already have so much to be thankful for? I'm not sitting in a rotting jail cell. I'm not imprisoned. I am not hungry (stuffed is more appropriate) and I am well. Beyond that, my son is well. He was not in the car when someone tried to steal it and thus not put into any kind of danger. And then God reminded me of a hard financial time that Greg and I walked through together. I was crying over things we were losing and he gently said to me, "Lori, those are just things. They can be replaced. Think about the things we have that can't be replaced. We are truly blessed." Oh. My. Goodness. It helped changed my perspective then and reminded me of the right perspective now! I started thanking God right then for the bountiful blessings in my life.
That doesn't mean I haven't been tempted to worry about my circumstances this week. To combat my worry, I remind myself of all the things God has seen me through in my life. This is no different. Now I need to make this an example to my children of how the Lord will provide! I am already telling them of how God has provided in the past and how we can be expectant for Him to do it in our future. It doesn't mean He's going to turn our lemon of a car into a Maserati, or even return Smoochy, but I know He will provide and I can't wait for Him to begin to teach them that He is faithful in every situation! Thank you for letting me share about being thankful in all things last week so I could preach it to myself this week in my beautifully broken life!
Thanks for the Smoochy photo.
ReplyDeleteI had one of those Beanies...hmm, let me think, 22 years ago, when I first moved to Arizona. Yes, holidays are indeed the toughest. They get "better," but not by much. You and Joshua were challenged. Be still and know that He is God. And I know that you are always doing just this.
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