Reason #936
They say you never know a good thing until it's gone. I think that's a real shame. But it's kind of true, isn't it? You never realize how much you enjoyed someone until you no longer have the opportunity to spend time with them. You never knew how good you really had it at work until all of those changes took place. You didn't understand how lucky you were to have what you had until you lost it. It's the unfortunate truth for most of us. We rarely realize the value of the things, opportunities, and people we have in our lives until they are no longer there.
I've read the news and heard so many sad stories over the past few weeks that I've been reminded, yet again, of how good I have it. I stood in line at the grocery store last night and I prayed a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord for providing Aaron and I with jobs so that we can afford to buy food each week. I thanked Him for the fact that we have grocery stores to go to that are filled with endless choices. If we had to survive off of the land or from homemade food, we'd starve in no time. And I just hoped with all my heart that this would be the case for the rest of my life. That for however many years I have left on this earth, I'd be able to go to the store and afford to buy enough food to easily get us through each week. I know that seems like a small thing, but can you imagine the world without grocery stores? What would happen if they no longer existed? What would our lives be like if we didn't have jobs so that we could afford food? Sure, we could get help. But what if everyone else needed help, too? I thanked the Lord that last night I could buy good food, fresh food, food of my choice, and pay for it at the grocery store. I know a good thing when I see it.
And last week I heard about three different couples going through divorces. I began praying that God would restore their marriages. And I thought about the painful spot they're in, and I prayed that God would intervene and change their circumstances. Because imagine the most painful, scary, humiliating thing you can, and then imagine that it became your reality. Can you imagine what it would be like to come home one day and your furniture be gone? Imagine what it must feel like to know that you've got to start you life over from square 1, and you have to figure out if you can make the ends meet on your own. The feeling of knowing that you're the talk of the town because someone changed their mind about you somewhere along the way is unsettling. It's hard to imagine yourself unmarried when you're committed as they come, isn't it? But as I kissed Aaron goodnight last night, I thanked the Lord that I'd never have to walk that path again. I know a good thing when I've got it.
The Pharisees prayed, "I thank you, Lord, that I'm not like "those people..." (Luke 18:11) But I am like "those" people. I am not worthy of the good things that God has given me. I don't deserve to have the job or the opportunities I have. I don't deserve to be able to live in a safe community with every resource a person could want or need at my disposal. I don't deserve to have the financial means the Lord has supplied me with, the family He has blessed me with, or the husband He has gifted to me. I'm far from perfect, far from deserving, and far from being worthy of such blessings. And maybe we take that for granted. Maybe we feel like we're entitled and deserving to what we've got if not a little bit more. Maybe we think it's not enough sometimes. Or maybe, we really are blinded to how good we've got it. To how good the Lord is to us. And so I want to see that. I don't want to walk through life taking things for granted and being ungrateful. I don't want to lose good things and realize it after it's too late. I want to recognize them when I see them, and I want to be thankful for them while I have them.
So hang on to the good things. Know them when you see them, and praise the Lord for every one of them. Don't let the good things slip through your fingers because you don't always get those them back. You may always have a paycheck to buy your groceries, or you may not. You may get to live out 50 plus years with your spouse, or you may not. Your health may last 100 years, or it might give you trouble along the way. But know a good thing when you've got it. See it for what it is, not for what you think it should be. Because life is a good thing. Your life is a good thing. And when you lay it all in God's hands, He has an uncanny way of opening your eyes to see the good around you. After all, every good thing comes from above, and when we see the good in our lives, we see God.
#936 - For the good things He has given me to hang on to and enjoy right now.
"Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens." - James 1:17
I've read the news and heard so many sad stories over the past few weeks that I've been reminded, yet again, of how good I have it. I stood in line at the grocery store last night and I prayed a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord for providing Aaron and I with jobs so that we can afford to buy food each week. I thanked Him for the fact that we have grocery stores to go to that are filled with endless choices. If we had to survive off of the land or from homemade food, we'd starve in no time. And I just hoped with all my heart that this would be the case for the rest of my life. That for however many years I have left on this earth, I'd be able to go to the store and afford to buy enough food to easily get us through each week. I know that seems like a small thing, but can you imagine the world without grocery stores? What would happen if they no longer existed? What would our lives be like if we didn't have jobs so that we could afford food? Sure, we could get help. But what if everyone else needed help, too? I thanked the Lord that last night I could buy good food, fresh food, food of my choice, and pay for it at the grocery store. I know a good thing when I see it.
And last week I heard about three different couples going through divorces. I began praying that God would restore their marriages. And I thought about the painful spot they're in, and I prayed that God would intervene and change their circumstances. Because imagine the most painful, scary, humiliating thing you can, and then imagine that it became your reality. Can you imagine what it would be like to come home one day and your furniture be gone? Imagine what it must feel like to know that you've got to start you life over from square 1, and you have to figure out if you can make the ends meet on your own. The feeling of knowing that you're the talk of the town because someone changed their mind about you somewhere along the way is unsettling. It's hard to imagine yourself unmarried when you're committed as they come, isn't it? But as I kissed Aaron goodnight last night, I thanked the Lord that I'd never have to walk that path again. I know a good thing when I've got it.
The Pharisees prayed, "I thank you, Lord, that I'm not like "those people..." (Luke 18:11) But I am like "those" people. I am not worthy of the good things that God has given me. I don't deserve to have the job or the opportunities I have. I don't deserve to be able to live in a safe community with every resource a person could want or need at my disposal. I don't deserve to have the financial means the Lord has supplied me with, the family He has blessed me with, or the husband He has gifted to me. I'm far from perfect, far from deserving, and far from being worthy of such blessings. And maybe we take that for granted. Maybe we feel like we're entitled and deserving to what we've got if not a little bit more. Maybe we think it's not enough sometimes. Or maybe, we really are blinded to how good we've got it. To how good the Lord is to us. And so I want to see that. I don't want to walk through life taking things for granted and being ungrateful. I don't want to lose good things and realize it after it's too late. I want to recognize them when I see them, and I want to be thankful for them while I have them.
So hang on to the good things. Know them when you see them, and praise the Lord for every one of them. Don't let the good things slip through your fingers because you don't always get those them back. You may always have a paycheck to buy your groceries, or you may not. You may get to live out 50 plus years with your spouse, or you may not. Your health may last 100 years, or it might give you trouble along the way. But know a good thing when you've got it. See it for what it is, not for what you think it should be. Because life is a good thing. Your life is a good thing. And when you lay it all in God's hands, He has an uncanny way of opening your eyes to see the good around you. After all, every good thing comes from above, and when we see the good in our lives, we see God.
#936 - For the good things He has given me to hang on to and enjoy right now.
"Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens." - James 1:17