Give a hat!

"There is always, always, always something to be thankful for."

Jerry and I just spent a week serving with Mennonite Disaster Service in a small town in West Virginia that suffered a major flood last year. Our team was working on rebuilding four houses damaged by the torrent of water that surged through the town.

One lunch time, our team was eating a delicious meal provided by a local church (they've done this for the volunteers each week day since the disaster and have promised to continue as long as needed!). The day was warm and we were gathered outside soaking in the brilliant sunshine. An older gentleman quietly walked down the steps to the group. Without fanfare, without announcement, without many words he began giving hats to each member of the team. He recorded our names and hometowns. He gave us a choice of orange or blue. He smiled. This man's home had been completely destroyed. His gratitude helped to rebuild hope in his heart just as his house was being rebuilt better, stronger than before. He gave back with a simple gift that unified our team and gave us a practical souvenir of this powerful, life changing week.

Gratitude heals.
It brings healing to the giver AND the receiver.
It opens our eyes to the joy set before us.
The simplest expressions of gratitude bring hope and life in a difficult and uncertain world.

"...give thanks IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Are you, like me, walking in a situation that is trying to steal your joy, your hope and peace? My challenge for us is to BE GRATEFUL. As we thank God for His many blessings and provisions for this day and for the unseen future, we open the door for our healing. Gratitude heals. As we express gratitude to those who are walking beside us in this journey, we open the door for closer relationships and deeper connections.

I am thankful for 13 months of post stage 4 diagnosis life. I am thankful for remission, for medication, for opportunities to share God's greatness in this simple life. For this opportunity to serve and laugh and love our neighbors with Jerry. Gratitude heals. I am choosing to be thankful because it's God's will for me....and for my good. 
Join me?

Confessions in a restaurant.

We sat in the restaurant, tears leaking out of our eyes, trying to hear the whispers above the loud music, clink of glasses and other conversations swirling around us. I glanced around to see if anyone was noticing but most seemed oblivious to our deeply emotional conversation. Our husbands were lost in their own world of hunting, houses and God. We had never been so real with each other but we leaned in and talked about loss and cancer and gains and God.  My friend has suffered a great earthly loss from the evil cancer. We had much to say....and the tears slowly made their way down our cheeks. We agreed:

Heaven is so much better than this life. Our "lost" loved ones are not LOST but just have gone through the doorway to the next life. They are free from dealing with taxes, permits, doctors, disappointments, and pain. We envy them. We sometimes wish to join them in that place. But realistically, it's the process that brings me to my knees. Friends, that is my greatest fear and cause for discouragement and sadness that knocks on the door of my heart once in a while.

We declare that God is good. That His Word is a Rock to stand on. That we believe His promises. That all we can do is STAND and CONFESS and BELIEVE (help my unbelief!) and LEAVE THE REST TO A SOVEREIGN GOD. She fought that cancer battle with someone close to her. She stood in faith. She confessed. She prayed and prayed. And, like many of us, she did not receive the answer she was hoping for. We agree that life is hard AND GOD IS GOOD.

I was finished with my coconut shrimp. The emotions had been gently poured out. With a sigh my friend and I shyly smiled and determined to keep walking this journey, to keep fighting for the blessings of this life, to enjoy the weddings and grandbabies and love of family and support of friends. To keep believing in our sovereign God and the knowledge of heaven...to keep holding onto HOPE even when fears seek to consume our hearts and minds....to cling to the God of hope like our very lives depend upon it. For indeed, they do.