Thanksgiving XII ~

11-17 May:  During the past week, I was thankful to be alive, to be breathing and to have brain cells kicking into gear with adequate speed; thankful that the littlest family member is sleeping more of the night-time hours; thankful for the heavenly Father whose steadfast love and tender mercies cause Him to be seeking us in spite of our wrong-headed fear and distrust of Him (Jeremiah 31:3); thankful for the greetings I received yesterday in celebration of Mothers' Day; thankful for the gift of all my children and the love with which they've filled my life; thankful for the message found in the MESSAGE Bible - 1 Chronicles 16:8-12: "Thank God! Call out His Name! Tell the whole world who He is and what He’s done! Sing to Him! Play songs for Him! Broadcast all His wonders! Revel in His holy Name, God-seekers, be jubilant! Study God and His strength, seek His presence day and night. . . ." 

I was thankful for the blessings of sunshine and rain with the understanding that all good gifts have been given by our heavenly Father; thankful for His Word that explains much of what can be hard to understand by human reckoning; thankful as I peruse this message written in Job 28:28 where we read: "He said to human beings, 'Have respect for the Lord. That will prove you are wise. Avoid evil. That will show you have understanding.'” (New International Reader's Version); thankful for the years blessed by living with a wise and wonderful mother who lived a "can do" life relying on our Father for every trial that crossed her way; thankful for the privilege of motherhood (and especially that my children are still speaking to me after all the mistakes I made during their lives!); thankful for this thought from Psalm 139:13-14: "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it." (The Living Bible); thankful for how often I find, reading in Psalms, a call to gratitude and praise; thankful for the multitude of blessings our Father has provided through the more than 85 years of my life; I was thankful for daily renewal of His grace and mercy for all - ". . . new every morning. . . ." Lamentations 3:23; thankful for the privilege of prayer.   What a blessing to be able to come, confidently, before God's throne with our praise, our thanks, and our requests, because we've been invited; thankful for the dear grand-children and great-grand children (and great-great-grands!) with which I've been blessed, what a joy as I watch them grow and develop into the people they were meant to be; and I was thankful, too, for the faithful counsel of the Scriptures - as true today as when Paul wrote: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that [God's people] may be complete, equipped for every good work" 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (English Standard Version).

I was thankful for dear carers and others who have added to my joy with visits through the past week; thankful that the forecasts of "rain" in the coming week do NOT mean there will be no sunlight, no patches of blue; and I was thankful for the depth of these words from Romans 11:33 where they are written: "Who can measure the wealth and wisdom and knowledge of God? Who can understand His decisions or explain what He does?" (Common English Version).