The Practice of Gratitude Part 7

Some dental pain is the worst kind of pain! Can I get an Amen?

And I am no stranger to pain. At times, it has been my constant companion. I will spare you my list of experiences with this formidable foe. Just know: I know of what I speak.

These last 10 days I endured almost unrelenting tooth fun. I am close to awarding this experience with my “worst-pain- ever” prize. The torture stopped for a few hours during the numbness of a root canal. Never had I looked forward to a dentist visit like the one I did that day, knowing I’d have a few pain-free hours. Twisted, I know.

Are you still with me? Because root canals and dental pain make for catchy, riveting blog posts. Something to brighten a day, right? If you are still here, thank you for staying. You are my support group today and you should get your own prize.

So, how can I be grateful for level 10 dental pain? God reminded me through this trial, that I do best when I go to gratefulness. Consequently, each day, I took out my gratitude journal and listed things like the following: medical insurance, dental care, friends that pray and check in, a greater empathy for those in acute pain, my mom and sister’s concern, my husband sitting up with me at night in my tears. This is good stuff.

As I go even deeper in my contemplation of these 10 days, I find I am profoundly grateful for God’s presence. You see, during the severest nights, when I couldn’t pray, I cried out to my Jesus. I cried out His name repeatedly.Continue Reading

“Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall bring forth…” Isaiah 43:19 NKJV

Snow

I begin this post with a disclaimer: I am grateful to live where I do and know that I am spoiled. Now let’s get started…

It is a sunshiney-75 degree-So. Cal-January day. The warm wind brushes my clothes as I type.

Sure, living here is almost ideal weather-wise. BUT there is something we have always pined for… that white, fluffy stuff called SNOW.

Our dreams came true when that white stuff came to call a few weeks ago on the eve of New Year’s Eve!

My family was giddy; it was pure magic to us. The entire town was downright delirious with joy.

God did a new thing for us.

In Scripture, we find examples of God doing a new thing in the lives of His children.

The last part of the Old Testament book of Isaiah is called “Book of Consolation”.

The prophet Isaiah is not only consoling the Israelites in their Babylonian captivity, He is also providing HOPE.

He foretells the captives’ upcoming deliverance from Babylon. But more importantly, tucked in this section too, is the prophecy of an unprecedented event, the coming of the Savior of the world.

“Behold, I will do a new thing…”

This promise was dramatic and exciting.

Sometimes when God does a new thing, it is swift, surprising and dramatic, a bit like our snow.

But in my life, God usually doesn’t work that way.

The Nation of Israel waited and waited and waited for Christ to come. Hundreds and hundreds of years after Isaiah’s promise, The Messiah arrived.

I have desired for God to do “a new thing” in my life for what seems like hundreds of years. This “new thing” I want God to do is so old now, it smells. The tears I’ve spilled over this issue could fill several buckets.

As a result, discouragement is a consistent companion.

Will it ever change?

The Nation of Israel waited for an interminable amount of time for the Messiah to show up. Yet He came through didn’t He?

He always does.

So, I press on in my season of waiting. Fighting discouragement is an ongoing task, so I stay in God’s word and renew my courage daily.

I grasp the hand of the God of Hope and discouragement shifts to courage. It always does, yet it almost surprises me.

Dear friend, what is your “old” new thing? Have you been waiting for what seems like hundreds of years? Have your tears filled buckets too?

I urge you to PRESS ON during your season of waiting.

Root yourself in Scripture, seek support and lay it down (again and again and again). Grasp the Hand of Hope. May He surprise you by turning your discouragement into courage.

Our God is mighty and surprising; He can even bring a Southern California snow.