I took last week off from the "thankful Thursday" post in order to really focus on the true meaning of Christmas; the Greatest Gift ever, Jesus! Come to Earth as a baby yet didn't stay in a manger, He grew, was fully human without being any less fully God so that He could show His love by dying on a cross to take our punishment - to face God's wrath for our sin - so that we could have a relationship with Him, to have the presence of God in us - Emmanuel, God with us! Every day of our lives and for all eternity. As I look back on 2020 it was a very tough year and one that I'm thankful I don't have to re-live. However, there have been many things that I'm truly thankful for; even some very hard things. Here are just a few of those things:
1) As mentioned above, I'm SO thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ. For His love, His sacrifice and His presence in my life. I'm SO thankful for the wonderful, merciful, worthy, sovereign, unchanging, all-knowing God who, even though He is all those things, sees me, hears me and cares about the deepest sorrows and joys of my heart.
2) This year has been one of a lot of family time. It has mostly been just the 8 of us since March. We now have a "pod" of people that we see but that is still limited. While at times this has been challenging as we all miss the relationships we have outside of our home it has also given a lot of time for making memories. Extra bike rides, walks, talks, games and puzzles.
3) I'm thankful for the lesson this year to live each day one at a time. So much changed from day to day that we truly had to slow, clear the calendar and take one day at a time, relying on God for the details of each day.
4) I'm so very thankful for Matt & the kids. I have said several times that the hardest decisions we make are those that affect our kids. Feeling the responsibility of the task God has given to us to seek to raise our kids to love and depend on Him. I'm thankful for a marriage where we work together in those decisions. There have been some tough days for us all but the kids have truly been amazing, They have showed grace to me during tough days, they have been open about their own struggles and they have adjusted to the ever-changing guidelines.
5) I'm also thankful for our church family. When we weren't able to meet in person we connected over Zoom, there were phone calls from leadership to check in on how we were doing. Mother's Day brought a special delivery (small plant) to each lady's door. They have worked tirelessly to connect with people, to make sure that when we did start meeting in person again that it was as safe as possible. All while also still reaching out to show the love of Christ to our community too.
There's a saying that "God is good all the time and all the time God is good." That has certainly been shown so many times this year. I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store for 2021.
What are you thankful for as we close out 2020?
I wanted to share this song because it's another one that I just love. God really is our God "Through all of it" No matter what we face, God is still our Emmanuel, God with us! He is still the Great I AM, Yahweh the covenant God Who is Faithful and True!
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