Generous & Thankful
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
-I Thessalonians 5:16-18
Last week I was away from the office on my Study Leave. I had originally planned to travel to Tennessee to visit my aunt for Thanksgiving and visit historic sites in the southeast, reading spiritual formation books along the way. That wasn’t feasible this year. My second plan was to participate in a video conference through the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA). Unfortunately, there were not enough participants registered, so that was canceled. Third plan was to read spiritual formation books, watch a video from the previous years’ PMA conference and work on our home improvement projects. (Jamey and I are replacing the carpet in our home with hardwood floors.)
My plans were apparently not God’s plans for my week. I did a little work on the floors in our home. I listened to my spiritual formation books. But mostly, I helped people move. On Tuesday, one of our new members needed to move out of her home into a Retirement facility. I rounded up a dozen wonderful saints from the church and we moved her in one day! It was fabulous! I was blessed to have so many people living out our purpose, “Daily becoming the heart and hands of Jesus Christ.”
Wednesday, one of our Trailseeker families needed a new bed. So I delivered an old mattress from my garage to their home. I also gave 6 kids a ride to our Middle School YBs trip to the trampoline park with the Meadow Springs Presbyterian youth group. Thursday, I picked up all the furniture that a couple of families could no longer use and delivered them to another of our Trailseeker families escaping a domestic violence situation. It was a long, tiresome day, and arriving at dusk was not in my plans. The look on the faces of three small children at receiving their own beds was worth the tired muscles and sore feet. The little girl was most excited about a sparkly mermaid tail blanket that was too small for Vivi. As soon as I showed it to her, she jumped right in and laid on the floor with a huge smile on her face, “Look! I’m a mermaid!”
God knew that I needed to get “out of my head” this week and do something concrete with my hands. With the onslaught of ideas and emotions from the recent election results, showing up and working shoulder to shoulder with God’s people was the “study” that I needed.
Thanksgiving is a time for reflection, to stop and remember all the blessings we have to be thankful for. Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonika to “give thanks in all circumstances”. Whether we are in a season of rejoicing or grieving, whether our plans are coming together or God has completely different plans for us, we can choose to be thankful. May you continue to be generous and thankful this season.
Creator God, you knit all things together with your infinite wisdom. We confess that we are often foolish, yet believe ourselves wise. We ravage your creation, taking what we want without concern, searching for freedom and happiness, forgetting that our true purpose and joy is found only in you. We seek first our own good, heedless of our place as one strand in the carefully woven fabric of your world. Forgive us. Open our ears to hear you speaking, and our hearts to embrace your purpose. Amen.
