A Thankful Heart

 Rejoice always,  pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I had a very wise person tell me something this weekend that struck me. She said "sometimes you should pray just to tell God 'thanks' ".

When times are tough I transform into this prayer warrior; I constantly pray for wisdom, strength, patience and peace. When life is so-so or really great, my prayers are not nearly as passionate or as constant.  We often see prayer as a time to ask for help, which it surely is, but it is also a time to tell God thanks for all the blessings He has given us.

Right now is a time in my life where I am flying high and feeling surrounded by God's love and blessings.  So, I want to consciously and thoughtfully make the effort to take the time to thank God. Without Him, I would be nothing and have nothing to be thankful for.

However, I know that there will be those days when things get tough again. I should thank God then too. Scripture says to give thanks in all circumstances. This means to thank God not only for His blessings, grace and love, but also to thank Him for the struggles and the heartache because they are also gifts from God. When times are tough, I don't understand God's purpose for the obstacles I am given. Sometimes, I even feel bitter about them. However, maybe God allows these trying times to happen so that we can grow closer to Him, or so that we can learn our own strength or for many other reasons that we cannot fully grasp. Either way, if we trust in Christ, He will always do what is best for us, even if it doesn't seem so at the moment.

So, this is just me saying thanks for all that I have been given. I could probably never say it often enough, but Thank you God.

Ask and You Shall Receive

Today, I finished the book, The Prayer of Jabez. This book is all about the prayer of Jabez who wholeheartedly sought God's blessings, even begged Him to be blessed. However, it is also about asking to be blessed so that you can bless others.

Once I finished the book, I decided to go to Barnes and Noble to feed this insatiable hunger- I had to read more about Christ.  As an English teacher, Barnes and Noble is my safe haven. If you're ever in a hurry to get somewhere, don't bring me within a five mile radius of one.

As I strolled the Christian inspiration section of the bookstore, I overheard an elderly woman asking one of the bookstore employees where she could find a certain book. They looked everywhere and couldn't find it. The woman was dismayed that she would have to order the book and wait for it to come in. As I overheard (my euphemism for 'eavesdropped'), it dawned on me that I knew exactly where that book was because I had held it in my hand just a few minutes before. Disappointed, the woman began to walk to the customer service counter with the sales associate.  I walked over the bookshelf where I had just seen the book and grabbed it. I chased after the woman and handed her the book.  A look of surprise and confusion crossed her face.  She thanked me and I walked back to the bookshelf I had been browsing.  As she was walking away, she looked at the sales associate and said "Who was that young lady and how did she know where this book was? Did I even thank her? She was such a great help to me." I smiled to myself and hid behind the bookshelf as she walked away.

Fifteen minutes later, I was feeling pretty good about my trip to Barnes and Noble and grateful for having prayed the prayer of Jabez that morning. However, God wasn't done with me.  I was looking through the journals section of the store when I heard someone to my right say something.  I looked up from my book-euphoria coma to see a man standing beside me, intently staring at me. "Excuse me, did you say something?" I asked. He repeated his question, "What book are you getting?" I picked up my book to show him the cover, The Ragamuffin Gospel. At this point, a young man approached us and asked the man, I learned his name was Tommy, to leave "the young lady alone." I realized that Tommy was mentally handicapped.  I quickly assured his guardian that it was fine and Tommy and I carried on our conversation for some time. I learned that he was from Pittsburgh and loved UNC Chapel Hill (I decided to forgive him for that).  He was in town for the long weekend and wanted to come to Barnes and Noble because he liked to read "books about places." When his guardian told him they had to go, I extended my hand to shake his, but he pulled me in for a big bear hug and then walked away. I looked back to see that he was looking at me, smiling.

Maybe it was just coincidence that I met these two strangers today. Maybe I remembered where the book was because it was written by a famous theologian. Maybe Tommy wanted to talk to me because he likes talking to stranger. I'll never know. However, I'd like to think that it was the prayer of Jabez at work.