Last year in the midst of a blustery winter, I walked out of a store and found a note on my windshield that I had a flat tire. I was running errands and could have thought, "Really? It's 30 degrees out here!"
However, I actually smiled when I thought of how God had already prepared the way ahead of me. Here is my list of reasons to be thankful:
In one of my first obstetrical/pediatric classes, I remember learning about infants who were raised in orphanages or nurseries with little contact or nurturing from caregivers. These babies were more likely to be lethargic or uninterested in their surroundings, and they often failed to thrive physically and emotionally.
David’s plea to God in Psalm 13 was this, “How long will my enemy be exalted over me?” David felt abandoned by God and experienced immense sorrow to the “point of death” (vs 3). He also feared that his enemies would be victorious. We are not sure whether David was worried about physical enemies or spiritual enemies. Either way, he felt vulnerable and strived to remain a faithful servant.
Photo courtesy of Adam Jeske
I live in a part of the United States where there is a distinct difference between the dry and wet seasons. This is especially true since the past few years have been exceptionally dry and has left my neighboring hills and fields with the barren tundra of cracked dirt and parched grasses.
This week Lisa Carlson, our NCF coworker, just returned from a cruise to celebrate her 30th wedding anniversary. Lisa oversees NCF Member Services and we missed her in the NCF office!
When I was preparing to enter a graduate nursing program, I took the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). When I finished, I knew that I had not done well. Weeks later, I received my test scores in the mail and my feelings were confirmed.
Like love and faith, our hope grows and blossoms as Christians (1 Corinthians 13:13). One of the ways we can nurture hope in our lives is through thankfulness. Identifying the simplest things and thanking our Father God for them fosters hope, even when we are buried beneath the trials of life.
Almost five hundred years ago, Martin Luther (a priest in the Catholic church at the time) was reading the Word of God and began to understand for the first time (by God's revelation) that we are "saved by faith" through God's grace as a "gift of God, not by works, lest any one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).