Happy Thanksgiving! - Part One

"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting!" - Pslam 136:1

Now seems to be the time for thanksgiving posts to be popping up on everyone's blogs. Tracie reflected on where she was a year ago and how much God has blessed her with since then. My mom listed 10 things she was thankful for. I think these are the top two ways we should celebrate Thanksgiving -- reflection and praise. So, without further ado...

A year ago I was a part time secretary and had been married for almost 6 months. On top of melding our lives into one, Matt and I were learning lessons of contentment, patience, and faith as we lived in a small city with only 2 good pre-marriage friends, no good church (not until January), and a hard full-time job for Matt. We had not expected the job he got or the place it was located. I guess we thought we'd live in a big city with a more glamorous job. But, in Jackson at the university, life was financially comfortable, socially uneventful, and slow. We had no idea how we'd get out of there with a "better" job somewhere else. But we knew we did not want to stay ANY longer than 5 years. Our attitude stunk in reality.

THEN we found THE church in Jackson and fell in love. We gained several more good friends and felt like we had family near us again...because the Body is our Family. We got to help plan our pre-married friends' wedding -- and that friendship morphed into an even better one as our lives were up to speed with each other. We got a "random" letter from the DoD that began Matt's security clearance process...and job transition. Meanwhile, God saw fit to use one of our good friends who happened to be an OB/GYN to advise us on my eye/headache issues, and the result was an unexpected baby on the way! We got word that Matt was officially accepted as a DoD employee, and moved within a few weeks from Tennesee to California.

So this year, I am a full-time stay at home wife-soon-mom with lots of time on my hands to relax and do whatever I wish around the house. Matt is a graduate student with every afternoon off which allows us LOTS of time together. We watch my belly grow every week, and feel the baby move every day, knowing we will hold it in a few months. A completely different life than last year.

The lessons we've learned:

1) God knows what HE is doing...our responsibility is to fit into His plan rather than seek our own. Living in Jackson allowed Matt ample opportunity to gain management, customer service, and problem solving skills. It opened our eyes to the fact that even Chrsitian organizations are nowhere near perfect, a motivation to NOT be blinded by rose colored glasses. Jackson taught us that there is no such thing as the Bible belt. It is more of a religion belt. Which brings us to our next lesson.

2) Christ's Church is a precious NECESSITY to the Christian life. Without it, you slowly starve from lack of good instruction and understanding of the Word, fellowship with other Believers, and support in all walks of life. Once we found ECC, we realized that the Body keeps you afloat in the deep waters of life. It refreshes your spirit and restores your soul to spend time with Brothers and Sisters who are LIKE-MINDED, to hear from Scripture rather than a preacher. We learned to not assume there will be several good churches to choose from wherever we go.

3) After we found ECC, the contentment lesson slowly started to take shape. Jackson wasn't so bad after all, in fact, it was comfortable in many ways! The blinders were lifted from our eyes and we saw that we really did have good co-workers, that it was a blessing to work at a Christian place rather than secular, that we had more than enough financially, and life could be lived very nicely because of what God had given us in life. We were close to both of our families and could plan many weekends to visit them. And after we learned to be content with God's plan, we learned that life takes on a much happier and satisfied tone.

4) We learned that God's timing is not our own...His is better. Those who are close to us know how long we waited in between phone calls or letters from the DoD. Those were HARD times. We desperately wanted to know when something would happen, if anything. Then we all saw how QUICKLY things happened after the long wait. The time crunch seemed impossible with paperwork due and moving to California imminent. God can say "Wait....waaaait....now GO!" and it will happen regardless of how it looks to us. The fact that I'm sitting in a wonderful apartment in Salinas while Matt is at class is proof of that.

5) We learned that God will provide for our every need no matter where we are located. Tennessee vs. California? Yeah, I'm sure you all can guess which ones is less comfortable financially. Not only did we see that we would have to get used to a more expensive standard of living, but we also had the looming knowledge of a baby on the way...which means more expenses. Trust. That is what it takes to step out in faith. Trust that this degree/job opportunity came from the Lord and that He would provide everything we need to get it done, baby and all. And we are still learning this lesson -- but in an amazed way. I have no idea if I have done anything differently or what, but food seems to be stretching beyond belief which means our grocery bill is much lower than anticipated. Somehow we keep ending up with much more at the end of each month than we thought we would. Praise the Lord! We don't care if we never find out how it's happened!

And after those five lessons and seeing how fast life can move in one year...we know that it isn't over yet! A baby will bring all sorts of new challenges, lessons, and blessings. Life will never be the same because a child adds a human being to a family, complete with a changing and growing personality and soul. And we know that our time here is temporary, both a sad and exhilerating thought. Come September 2007, we will have to say goodbye to the incredible church family we already have here...but we will be pressing on in this adventure God has planned for our lives. Maryland will be yet another new start in life for us...which makes three fresh starts in 3 years. Now if that's not a fast paced life, I don't know what is! I am just thankful that the pace of each day is relaxing while the years pummel forward.

Give thanks to the Lord...for He is good -- He blesses when we deserve nothing.

His lovingkindess is everlasting -- and His sovereignty is eternal lovingkindess.

Thank you, Father, for not letting us be in control. Our messy lives would only have a pointless Thanksgiving if it weren't for You!