(Autobiographical warning: If you have no interest in what's going on in my life, you probably ought to go on to something else. I think there is something worth thinking about here, but it is heavily laced with thoughts about what is going on at this stage of my life.) I'm starting to write this while I'm eating breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. It'll be another sixteen hours before my family, gathered at my older son's house rises and pours a bowl of cereal--Pilgrim Flakes--or fries an egg on Thanksgiving morning. I can't avoid a certain level of cognitive jet-lag. I've been here in Guam long enough that I'm sleeping at night and staying awake in the daytime, just fine, but I haven't gotten to the point where I can look at my watch without calculating the time back home and the time where Kathy is. Here, where I am, it is thanksgiving. There is turkey in the oven, and dessert on the table. In a few hours I'll gather with a marvelous multi-ethnic family, for a thanksgiving feast. It is good.
On this Thanksgiving morning I want to use this space to publicly offer thanks.
THANKSGIVING 2015. I'm thankful for:
- A truly hopeful life. I use that word "hope" in the way it is used throughout the New Testament, often linked with faith and love. I have seen a lot of despair. I've seen beautiful people become gnarled caricatures of themselves. The brutality of life on this globe twisted them into bitter, old (whatever their age) creatures devoid of joy. Some found life so unbearable that they chose to end it prematurely, others took no direct action, but just quit. I am thankful that I still find life filled with joy. I take pleasure in God's gifts. I enjoy the people God has brought into my life. I find life meaningful because of the promises of God, and because His hand is guiding this world to the conclusion He has ordained.
I'm thankful for hope.
- My family. My lovely wife, my two sons and their families are all together at my older son's home. I have a family who love the Lord. They are involved in significant ministry. My sons and their wives are bringing up my grandchildren in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. I have a grandson who is already on his own. He is a man of God.
I'm thankful for family.
- A healthy body. I have liked Data, the android character on Star Trek, Next Generation, for a long time. It seems that with the passage of years I become more like him. My latest "cybernetic implant" is a set of hearing aids. Day before yesterday I walked three miles, at a good clip, I am planning to go hiking with kids the age of my grandkids in a few hours. My new knee works well. Some of my friends are debilitated with chronic pain. Others won't be able to enjoy their Thanksgiving dinner. Various ailments have robbed them of the joy in common tasks. My Lord made this world a beautiful place. In spite of the ravages of sin it retains much of its wonder. I'm thankful for seeing the sky, feeling the breeze, being able to walk the earth, and enjoy its wonders. I'm glad that at this point in life I still have a measure of health that allows me to ask, What's next?
I'm thankful for my health.
- The new venture that, by God's grace, Kathy and I are embarking on. For more than forty-two years it has been my privilege to be pastor at the Covington Bible Church. With my church's blessing I'm now embarking on something new. If you don't know, and you care to look, you can find out about thishere.
I'm thankful, especially at this point in my life, to have work with eternal significance that I can do
- My wife. I know I already mentioned family, but I want to recognize Kathy's unique place in my life. She is a blessing in so many ways. She is a woman of God. I have been privileged to see her become a capable teacher, and leader. She is a talented musician. Her live is suffused with a kindness that makes Kathy a blessing to all who know her, and I get to be first in line. To paraphrase some of Solomon's words:
Kathy is a fountain of blessing for me.
I continue to rejoice in the wife of my youth.
. . .
I am still captivated by her love.
(Proverbs 5:18–19).
I'm thankful for Kathy.
- For partners in ministry. My new status as "missionary" gives me opportunity to experience a whole new realm of thankfulness. Over the past few months, Kathy and I have often found ourselves awed and humbled by those who have joined the team that is being assembled to raise up a new generation of leaders in Micronesia and beyond. (Again, if you are curious, I direct youhere.
I'm thankful for partners in ministry
I could go on, but you have things to do to get ready for your own Thanksgiving. I hope my thoughts will serve to prime the pump of your "thanksgiving-ator."
Lord willing, this Sunday, I'll share a message from Psalm 107, ". . . give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting." The whole Psalm is a great encouragement to gratitude.
May your Thanksgiving be filled with thanks.
Find out about how God in Jesus Christ gave us what the Apostle Paul Called the unspeakable gift. It is a gift that merits the most profound thanks. Find out about it here.
My church,Covington Bible Church, is putting on a event that remembers, and celebrates the great event in when the Son of God came here. I hope you'll attend out Live Nativity. |
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