Thankful For All Things

 Yesterday I had to pick Lydia up from school as it appeared that she was unwell. When I picked her up, she was crying and looking extremely sad (For Lydia that is very unusual unless there is a good reason). I took her home and checked for a fever, but she didn’t have one. She has no cough or cold, so I didn’t know what the problem was. For a moment I panicked and thought that maybe her heart was playing up (she has three different heart problems)! But I told myself to relax and wait. As she couldn’t explain to me how she was feeling or why, it was very hard to know. I realized how much I would miss her if something ever happened to her! I gave her some pamol in case she was sick. And half an hour later she was talking and smiling again. For the rest of the day she was her normal cheerful self. I have no idea what the problem was.

But it reminded me how fragile life is and how much we often take it for granted. Especially when we’re busy! Sometimes it does us good to get a scare, as it helps us to see how easily things can change and how much we have to be thankful for.

The day before, Joseph had stayed home as he had been bitten or stung by something as he was playing outside. His hand was very swollen and sore. I already had treatment for it, but it took a day or two for it to come right.

Yesterday afternoon, my children were looking at the box of books I had gotten in the mail. The book I wrote about Lydia. We all ended up sitting on my bed sharing memories and funny stories from when Lydia used to be in hospital.

Then last night, right before bed, my dad sent me a video of a church service where a man with Down Syndrome preached a short sermon and sung a song. His message was a little hard to understand because of the way he talked, but the points he got across were very simple and touching. He talked about being thankful. It is God’s will to be thankful. Thankfulness pleases God. We should be thankful for all things, at all times, in all places etc. When he started singing “Give thanks with a grateful heart” the tears came to my eyes. Coming from a man with Down Syndrome, it was very touching!

In my quiet time this morning, I was listening to a testimony that I had been sent of a lady whose husband was killed on the mission field. Once again, I was reminded of how fragile life is and how much I have to be thankful for. We are often unaware of how many things don’t happen to us that could happen. We are kept from so many dangers and sicknesses.

But not only that, it somehow made me very thankful for all the trials that I have had. Because it is through the trials that my faith has grown and my relationship with God has gotten stronger. It is through our trials, that we experience the nearness of God as we see answers to prayer and the help and strength that He gives.

So thank God for all your blessings and all the dangers you have been kept from. But also, thank God for the trials you haven’t been kept from. Because if you never had a problem, you wouldn’t know that Christ could solve them! 

And knowing God is the most important thing in life.