A few years back, I was challenged by a mentor to meditate on all the things I was truly thankful for. For a moment, I thought “how hard could this be?” In fact, I do believe I stated this out loud and my mentor emphasized the term “everything”. There are two ways to proceed from this point; take on the task with deep focus and the fullness of thought it deserves or treat it like that mid-term paper that should be attended to but really doesn’t get any attention until two days before it is due. I chose to dig deep and make as comprehensive a list as possible. This sounds like a simple thing, but it became quite a task which took much longer than I thought it would. If you are thinking that I am exaggerating, I challenge you to take on the exercise on your own.
I started with the standard items. I am thankful for my
family, my friends, my health, my job and my faith. I would generalize the list
like this and present it to my mentor, but I am certain he would ask for more
detail (which he did). Set out the categories, then seek out the sub-categories
and then detail the sub-categories out and so on and so on. So, with that in
mind, I started to dig deeper. When I sat down and meditated on it, I
discovered my family is a whole lot bigger than I thought. I am thankful for my
wife which led me to her side of the family and the sets and sub-sets of family
members there. Then there was my family, and my sibling and his family and his
in-laws and then there was my son and his wife and her family and now my grandson.
You see where this is going? I am thankful for friends, for my faith, for my
job, for experiences. It just kept growing and after I had compiled the list,
there was still more I could have added.
My mentor then asked “what of these things is the most important,
what is replaceable and what is irreplaceable?” I have wrecked my fair share of
things in my life; cars, toys, tools and, yes, relationships to name a few. But
the things I truly hold as dear to my heart, those things I truly am grateful
for all have one thing in common; they are God given. Something we should never
forget is God gives abundantly in love so let’s look at what I hold most dear.
I love my family and even though I have caused issues in the past, we are still
family and I am with them, they are with me as are my friends. My faith in a
loving, forgiving God, my love for my family and my deep connection with friends,
these are the things I am most thankful for, everything else is temporary. Luke
15:28-32
“The older brother was angry
and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but
he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a
single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one
young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes
back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the
fattened calf!’
“His father said to him,
‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We
had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to
life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”
The older brother was angry about the temporary, the
replaceable, where the father was thankful for what was irreplaceable, love, relationship
and hope. This weekend, we finish the miniseries on Grace. We invite you to
join us online Sunday at 10:30 AM MST. Click on either link below to join us
live:
Facebook Live -
https://www.facebook.com/main.ave.31
YouTube Live – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs9LIkN_QTdVM6eVXEgy9QA
See you all Sunday.
Blessings
Pastor Todd
www.mainavefellowship.blogspot.ca
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