Thankfulness
As I walked into the house, I heard the sewing machine running and then it stopped. I reached Mother’s bedroom door just as she whipped the new garment from under the Singer Sewing Machine presser foot saying, “Thank you, Lord!”
I asked, “Why are you thanking God, Mom?” I was used to her creations at the sewing machine, and took them for granted. She looked at me in surprise, “Why, Susie (my nickname), it is because God let the thread and the seams finish at the same time!”
That was one of many expressions of thanks I heard for ‘the little things’ in our home. I’ve often heard that God’s timing is exact, yet I didn’t know it extended to such an every day event. I began looking for other things to thank my Lord for…and I find many. When I enter a busy intersection, and suddenly it is clear of traffic, I know that God is there. When I encounter a problem and suddenly the answer is clear, I know that God is there. In the evening as I retire, my last thought is resting in His arms, secure and safely. In the stillness of the night, when I awake and can’t sleep, I turn to him, and He gives me rest. When the day dawns and the ‘to-do list’ lengthens endlessly, I trust in His Goodness and His Help. The food and the health He gives me is such a blessing….
The song comes to my mind:
God is good all the time He put a song of praise in this heart of mine God is good all the time Through the darkest night, His light will shine God is good, God is good all the time
As a young matron, I looked for a gift I could give for Mother’s Day. You must know that I grew up with knowing that washing dishes is a chore. Somehow the dishes piled up in the sink in my home, and I remembered the hours I spent doing ‘chores’ in the kitchen. Then I found the poem, which I prepared for Mother’s gift – even breaking some doll dishes to fit on the frame. It changed my focus, not on the chore, but the blessings of dirty dishes.
Thank God for dirty dishes,
They have a tale to tell.
While other folks go hungry,
We’re eating very well.
With home and health and happiness,
We surely shouldn’t fuss.
For by this stack of evidence,
Life’s been good to us.
You might say that I had this same view a house cleaning – a chore. Now I know that a home is a blessing, and represents a place of love, growth and a place to be God’s child. And I am thankful when I wash the kitchen floor, vacuum the carpet and dust that God has given me this place to be.
Just this morning, as I walked along our street, my heart leaped at the sight of the beauty of God-painted leaves on one tree. I love to mix colors, but I would be hard pressed to come up with that luxuriant shade of sunsets and fall leaves. Recently someone sent me a series of pictures of a vista from a mountain top. There before me in the photos lay mountain tops and deep valleys, all dressed in God-colors.
I Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
No matter what happens, and every day there is something or someone that needs AGR on our part. (Additional Grace Required) It may be short-lived, or it may stretch out seemingly unendingly. God taught me that when I cared for my Mother during her last illness, when I finally prayed, “If this is what you want me to do, I will do it.” I submitted to his will. Mother died two weeks later.
Psalm 68:6-7 Blessed be God— he heard me praying. He proved he’s on my side; I’ve thrown my lot in with him. Now I’m jumping for joy, and shouting and singing my thanks to him.