Thankful

This morning was one of those moments where you are just overwhelmed with gratitude, overcome with emotion.

I woke up with a sore throat, a stuffy nose, and head ache. It was raining and gloomy, I really just wanted to stay in bed.

I went downstairs to our "quiet time" place. Anthony had warmed up water in the tea kettle and the hot cup of chai was a refreshing way to warm up a bit. I pulled my journal and Bible and read in Isaiah, chapter 11 verses 1-9. I was so struck at how refreshing Christ is. This passage follows 10 chapters nearly completely full of description about how difficult life will be in the end times, there will be famine, injustice, evil and hatred will abound, life will be universally painful and hard, espcially for the people of Isreal and the Jewish nation.

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

It is completely crazy to understand that justice COMPLETELY belongs to God. That God is GOD, not one of many, but the one true GOD. God is fair, no one will ever be able to say, "that wasn't fair." He is righteous and faithful. He will bring peace, unimaginable peace...wolves dwelling with lambs, a baby playing over a cobra's hole, without fear of danger. All will be "full of the knowledge of the LORD." There will be no disputes or wondering, it will be clear.

It kind of makes you stand back and go, "woah." God is BIG and I am so small.

As I continued with my time, I read the following verses in Psalm 56: 8-13

You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you. For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

How striking, that God can be so powerful to completely redeem the injustice and terror in this world, and at the same time be so intimately connected with my life. God knows each of my tossings, knows my tears, knows about when I have been hurt. GOD IS FOR ME! God has delivered my soul from death and kept my feet from falling. I deserve to be one of those struck down His rod of justice because I, like every human, have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). But Jesus Christ offers forgiveness once and for ALL sins to any who seek Him for it. He promise to never (NO, NOT, NEVER) leave or forsake those who have trusted Him for that salvation. He has surely kept my feet from falling and delivered my soul from death.

I was feeling so thankful!

As I got the kids up and made them breakfast, I put on a CD a friend made as a testimony to a time she was struggling to believe that God had good for her life as she longed to hold a baby in her arms while struggling through months of unsuccessful fertility treatments. I was just overwhelmed with gratitude for her life and for the 2 children she now has. How God knew each of her tossings and will not forget one of her tears. I looked at my children eating their peaches and honey combs, seeing them dance a bit to the music and was just overcome. I tearily changed their diapers and got them dressed, amazed at the opportunity to be the mom of Rourke, Lydia & Francesca. I was overwhelmed with thankfulness for God's faithfulness, for Christ's sacrifice, and for the redemption given freely to me though Jesus Christ. I was so joyful!

The kids were having fun, singing along with the music (as best as they could, mostly "la's" and "oh's"). They were dancing, they were joyful and thankful too. Not that they could describe why, probably because Mommy wasn't a grump..I tend to not be the most chipper woman in the morning.

So, here is the rendering of my morning, a thank offering to the One True GOD!