Sunday, November 22, 2009

Give thanks --in all circumstances--

One of the Bible passages mentioned today was from I Thessalonians 5:18, which says "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Boy, is that a hard one! I can be joyful pretty much of the time, for I am generally a positive person. I pray kind of generally throughout the day, short sentence prayers for persons, family, occasions as they come to mind., then pray at night when I do my Bible reading. But the "thanks in all things" part??? I really, really have trouble with that part of this commandment. How can I give thanks for this cancer? How can I give thanks for this circumstance I am in, with the hated chemo, the loss of health, the loss of freedom to live a "normal" life? Well, I have and still struggle with this. One thing about this is allowing others to do "for me", which goes against the grain. Grandma once said that when you let someone do for you, you allow them the grace of giving. That is a profound way of looking at the loss of doing for oneself. I am thankful for the grace of giving prayers which others do for me and for John. I am thankful when someone says I am showing my love of God in the way I approach this cancer. So maybe, someday I will get a handle on being thankful for all things--I am trying--
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 23, 2009 at 8:52 PM

    Hi, I just ran across your blog. Far be it from me to preach any quick fix web messages. In October, my infant granddaughter passed away. Therefore, this verse has frustrated me a bit also. As of right now, I see it as a horizontal versus vertical issue. To look at our circumstance (looking vertical) would be to thank God FOR losing Ava. To look at our circumstances horizontally is to thank God IN the midst of (or despite) losing Ava.
    I'll will be praying for you as I shut down the computer in a moment. If you get the chance, please say a prayer for those of us who miss Ava.

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  2. BevNovember 24, 2009 at 9:47 PM

    Dear sweet sister...oh how I understand your loss..our middle child died at age 29...and one of my precious sisters died of cancer at age 58..seven years ago. Sorrow is so all consuming, and I struggle with letting God be our God and knowing His purpose in each life.

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