Sunday Reflections

Have you ever sat through a sermon, conference, or guest speaker and thought: "hey, they are talking to me!"? That was me yesterday during our Sunday morning sermon at church. I always look forward to going to worship services. I went to the same church my whole life growing up. So when I moved almost 6 years ago, I was nervous about finding a new church family. I had never experienced visiting other congregations in hopes of finding one to worship with. I visited 2 congregations and both ended up being my place of worship during different times in my life. My current congregation is one I visited when I first moved here; however, at the time it was too far away. My husband and I began attending this church when we got married 3 years ago. Since we bought our house, we live less than 5 minutes away!

Now enough of the back story, on to the purpose of my post: sermons speaking to me! Yesterday's sermon was about Thankfulness. Every now and then our preacher will preach on "Questions Jesus Asks." This question came from a reading in Luke 17: 11-19, with the specific question being in verse 18: "Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" This is taken from the context of Jesus cleansing the 10 lepers. Out of 10 people being cured of Leprosy, only one came back and gave thanks to Jesus. Now, the preacher went on to make the point that being thankful is easily forgotten. Did the 9 lepers purposefully forget to thank Jesus? Probably not! They were overcome with such joy that they went on their way rejoycing, possibly going to reunite with their families. This got me to thinking....How often do I forget to be thankful for what I have? We should be thankful in all circumstances. As a society, we have been blessed. Yet, most only turn to God when tragedy strikes. What about turning to God when we receive blessings? I like to think that I spend time in prayer other than just asking for things or when things are going bad. The truth is, I could spend more time being thankful. 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 says we should pray without ceasing and to give thanks in all circumstances. We have countless blessings. Yet, we seem to be focused on all the things we do NOT have instead of the everything we DO have. I'm guilty of this as well. I'm also guilty of impatience. I really struggle with wanting things on my time when I know that all things are on God's time. Those that know me, know I'm a planner and like things to run on a schedule, usually one of my own making. However, that is not what happens the majority of the time, especially with life changing decisions. I like to sometimes stop and remind myself that when God closes a door, he opens a window. He has something else in mind for me, or he is blessing me in a different way. He knows what I need when I need it.

First real life example: I've been trying to get a job close to home for a while. My husband and I are ready to try to start a family, and I would like to be close by when that happens. I've applied to many schools at every position I am certified for, but doors just aren't opening. Even one promising lead turned out to be another door closed. Then I find out that in September my husband and I are both getting raises! And I will have a new team to work with this year at school. I also have the opportunity to go to New Orleans with my team in a few weeks for a Math conference. Doors close, but windows open!

Second real life example: This one doesn't necessarily have doors closed and windows opened, but this is more the example to be thankful for what you do have instead of what you don't. It's time, or so we think, to make that next big life change. However, things are proving difficult. As mentioned previously, I want things on a certain time table and it can be difficult for me to accept when things don't follow what I have planned. So naturally, you can imagine that I am going crazy right now! And my poor husband bears my craziness with a grace and ease that no other man would. I truly am a lucky woman. I'm trying so hard to not focus on what's going wrong and why things aren't happening when I want them to. I need to step back and look at what I do have: and that's a husband that would forgive me anything. He treats me better than I have a right to be treated sometimes. We continue to pray together and ask for our next big life change, but we also remind ourselves to be thankful for what we do have and all the blessings He has bestowed upon us.

So, I'll leave you with some scriptures from yesterday's sermon that I thought were great to go to when you need some reminders of what to do to demonstrate thankfulness:

• Philippians 4: 6-7 *this one is one of my favorites
• Psalm 28:7
• Matthew 6:25-34 (especially 33-34) *this one was not part of the sermon, but it is one of my all time favorite verses that I like to go to when I need comfort and reminding about who is really in control