Psalm 9:1 - “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all of my heart; I will tell of your wonderful deeds.”
This week we have celebrated Thanksgiving in the U.S. A time to be thankful. A time to get together with family or friends and enjoy each other’s company around a special meal. It’s one of my favorite times of the whole year.
At the beginning of this month, I challenged a dear friend to share a list of three items every day that we were each thankful for. Things like naps, seat warmers, friends, saunas, coffee, time to shop, the rain finally stopping, and podcasts filled our lists. It was a lovely reminder of the beauty in our lives and the number of ways we are blessed. In fact, on Thanksgiving day, after a month of listing all of the ways God has blessed me, I wrote to my friend - “I am thankful for my beautiful life. It isn’t perfect, but it’s exactly as it should be. I am blessed beyond what anyone needs. I am thankful for the fact that I could go on for years, coming up with three (or 50) things every day to be thankful for, and never run out.”
And then, I posed the question to my MOPS leaders in Africa. A simple question: What are you thankful to God for….? There were standard answers, of course. The answers we all expect to hear. Friends, family, health, the gift of being a mother. The answers that span across every country, every culture, every society.
But then, there were the other answers. The ones that found gratitude in so much pain. The ones that I want to understand, to empathize with, to fix, but will never be able to. The ones that made me catch my breath.
These posts aren’t supposed to be about me, but I’m going to deviate a bit this time, as I reflect on a few things I’ve discovered over the past couple of years. Something that I’ve been wanting to put into words, but it took me asking for others’ words to be able to say it well enough.
I feel caught.
These posts aren’t supposed to be about me, but I’m going to deviate a bit this time, as I reflect on a few things I’ve discovered over the past couple of years. Something that I’ve been wanting to put into words, but it took me asking for others’ words to be able to say it well enough.
I feel caught.
Between the space of seat warmers in my car, while knowing this beautiful boy is struggling for his life with a brain tumor and might not make it to the hospital in time.
Between the space of throwing out romaine lettuce, while people I love will go hungry tonight.
Between the space of helping, while never being able to help enough.
Between the space of being grateful for my abundant blessings, while questioning ‘why me?’
So, what else are my MOPS African leaders thankful for this season….
“We are thanking God for His protection over our lives in the case of shootings all around us.”
“I am thankful that my brother, though kidnapped and demanded a ransom, was found safe in the woods. After a few days in the hospital, we have been able to bring him home.”
“My family is thanking God for provision even as we have lost our market place.”
“I am thankful because the rains have finally started.”
“Thankful that I found the school fees so my son could continue with school this semester.”
“I thank God for the times I get to feel pain and disappointment. It’s been a really hard year.”
“Thanking the Lord for making me content at a job that I have feel so uncontent with for the past 5 years.”
“I had to make a decision to resign from my job in December thinking about my survival, but thanking the Lord because he will be faithful.”
“Thankful that our country is held together, despite our terrible political crisis.”
“I thank God for food to eat, clothes on my back, shoes on my feet, and shelter over my head, because I know many that don’t have these things.”
But, amongst so many prayer requests, and such heavy burdens, there is always hope.
I have always found hope in my African friends, and that’s what I cling to…
“I am giving thanks to God this year, because I have discovered that I can do bigger things than I ever thought.”
