Hear the Echo

Grace and gratitude belong together like heaven and earth.

Grace evokes gratitude like the voice of an echo.

Gratitude follows grace as thunder follows lightening.

 ~Barth

            I’m guessing that lately you’ve been talking a lot about the things for which you’re thankful. I have. It’s something we enjoy doing during our Thanksgiving holiday. Maybe each person at your Thanksgiving table told the things that make them feel thankful. Maybe you took the entire month of November and posted a different blessing on your Facebook page every day.

It’s easy to be thankful one day a year when your loved ones are gathered around your dining room table and everyone’s plates are piled high. Being thankful a few minutes a day for month is also pretty easy. It’s not hard for me to be thankful in November. Or even in December, for that matter.

I struggle to be thankful when everything (and I mean everything) is going wrong. Do you? There are some situations that make me want to crawl under my bed, not throw a party where I can feast on turkey with all my friends. That’s just the truth.

I bet you can relate. How many days this year have you wanted to wave the white flag? I don’t know. Maybe you haven’t felt that way at all. It could be an awesome year for you. I, however, have been begging for terms of surrender.

It’s interesting to me that at that desperate place of begging to “tap out” God’s grace likes to take root. When you have no more ideas or plans or strength and you just raise your hands in a sign of “I give up”, God’s grace pours out like a breached Hoover Dam. So, in those lowest of lows, I still find reasons to be grateful. When I can’t take it anymore, the outpouring of His grace turns my anxiety to singing. It’s a kind of cycle. One feeds the other.

I know it’s a little early to make New Year’s resolutions, but I think choosing to reach out and accept God’s grace every day then celebrate it in thankfulness is the goal we should make for 2015. Much more fruitful than resolving to run three miles every day, which, let’s be honest, is self-torture.

In the coming days, take time to recognize and receive God’s grace then enjoy it in thankfulness, knowing that the greatest measure of His grace comes when we’re at our worst moments. Embrace the cycle.

Prayer Points:

• Good conversations when they step out for language practice. That God would lead them to speak with the right people.
• That they would be sensitive to those who may be “persons of peace”: those who would be open to the Gospel.
• Protection from disease such as malaria and dengue. The rainy season has begun!

Let’s also thank God for the little victories they experience every day. Hearing their flight numbers in English, getting invitations to neighbors’ homes, making friends with a little boy. They can feel the influence of your prayers. Be encouraged and keep going!