I was in church today and I heard an amazing story about the power of memorializing the good things God has done for us, as a way to appreciate and recognize His faithfulness. So I decided to take the challenge for myself. Everyday there are plenty of big and small ways in which God demonstrates His love and care for me, in effect proving His faithfulness. I intend to chronicle them here, for myself and for others as an opportunity to share my own gratitude but also in hopes that it encourages others to do the same in their own lives. I learned a long time ago that I'll never truly be happy until I learn to be satisfied. Satisfied with where I am, what I have, and all that God has already done for me.
Today's story begins with a phone call. Actually, it starts with several. Sunday afternoons is when I usually make my calls to family. Sometimes it gets kind of monotonous, but sometimes, like today, it kind of pulls me out of my funk of self-centeredness long enough to realize how much I have to be thankful for. Calling my father, mother, grandmother, and relatives in South Carolina today, the first thing I realized was that they'd been without power for the past day or so. Apparently a huge storm swept through my hometown and issued some damage. Trying not to feel like a bad son, grandson, brother, etc for not calling sooner, I learned that everyone was fine, with the exception of minor property damage. The power even came back on today so things were starting to look up.
I could have stopped there and simply appreciated the fact that despite our own storms here in Atlanta, we've not lost power. But, there was a bigger opportunity for gratitude in one of the conversations I had with my father. He began by sharing that he had some news, and given his ominous tone I could tell it wasn't necessarily good news. Long story short, he'd had a recent health scare that potentially could still prove to be serious with implications for all of his children. He wanted to share this news with us first, before he told anyone else. I'm still kind of in shock to be honest. Not necessarily at the news, but at it's implication. I sat on the steps after our phone call next to my youngest daughter just in quiet appreciation. Happy about the fact that despite a rainy day, we did get a chance to go outside and ride our bikes a bit in between storms. Happy about the fact that despite the headaches of raising young kids, I wouldn't trade the time we're investing now, for anything in the world. And that's where I've discovered God's faithfulness towards me most today: in the time He's granted me. The thing I sometimes take for granted, but in reality my most precious commodity.
Today, I'm thankful for the lesson God has gifted me about time. I may also one day look back on this day as the day I began spending significantly more time with my father. If so, I'll be thankful for God's faithfulness in ensuring I didn't waste my most precious commodity.
SDW3
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