Thankful Thursday

I've been sharing my list of things for which I'm thankful, piece by piece, as I become aware (or newly-aware) of them. The list grows far more rapidly than I can record, but once again, on Thursday, I'm posting a bit of the list that is most currently on my mind.

Thankfulness begins with the acknowledgement and recognition of the one true God. There is no valid thankfulness or gratitude without this awareness. So, here goes the list for this week...

I'm so thankful this week...

• that there is a God and LORD over all - I am an infinitesimally small speck, in the big picture
• that He beckons me to come to Him, to know Him -even though I'm so small
• that He alone gives all things - I have nothing that didn't come from Him
• that He grants forgiveness - whenever I ask, admitting failure and turning back
• that He LOVES unendingly- and shows ME how to love, giving me relationships with both loveable and those harder-to-love people
• that He allows me to recognize the blessings of:
  family and friends, "health" and "home", sunshine and rain.

Lyrics Tommy Walker lyrics - Only A God Like You lyrics

Monday Musings...

You know how sometimes you get something stuck in your mind and it keeps going round and round... like the lyrics of a song, or the tune itself, or... the last rude thing someone said to you, or vice-versa? Well, this past week I've had a thought that keeps reappearing in my mind, and have finally decided to just deal with it. Sometimes the best way to handle a nagging thought is to just deal with it.

There's a saying from some in my collection of family and friends that goes like this,
"Be where you're at".
I've also heard this thought stated another way,
"Where ever you are, be there".

This thought has been relentless, lately... popping up at various times and in various situations. I have to admit that thinking about it leads me to the desire to make everything in every moment COUNT.

To BE WITH whom I'm with... to LISTEN to the person speaking... to LOOK at who is looking at me... to ENCOURAGE the one who came to me for encouragement... to APPLAUD the one who came deserving recognition or attention... to BE INVOLVED where I am at the moment... to PARTICIPATE in my surroundings. Sounds like a given, but it can be so easy to fall into the rut of "getting things done".

I'm now inclined to reserve the actions of THINKING (as in studying), READING, RECORDING MY THOUGHTS, PLANNING, and ANALYZING things... for those times when I'm alone in the place I have designed for doing these things.

I want to invest my time in the lives of other people when the opportunities arise. Instead of being or appearing preoccupied in the presence of others, I want to BE WITH those I'm with. I want to interact with them, and to encourage them, and to invest in their lives, and to enjoy communication with them.

I want to FOCUS on making an impact, investing my time, right where I am and with whom I am... particularly, and especially, when I want to be somewhere else. Did I just admit that I don't always want to be "where I am"? I think so! And I don't think I'm alone in this either.

A friend of mine brought up the subject today in reference to the fact that, as parents of children with special needs, we have the opportunities to go places and be with people that we never would have been able to go and to be - were it not for our children and their activities relating to their special needs. She's right. We, and our children, are given the opportunities to communicate with and to relate to people whom we (or our children) would never have had the opportunity to meet, otherwise. Rather than chance meetings, interruptions, or hurdles - these opportunities are found to be "divine appointments", indications that God is able and willing to use us in the lives of others.

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.
Always be prepared to give an answer
to everyone who asks you to give the reason
for the hope that you have.
But do this with gentleness and respect,"

1 Peter 3:15 NIV

Anyway...I think there is a lot of good counsel in the statement that popped in and out of my thoughts for days. Though it's not exactly good grammar, it's definitely a statement worth reflection.

"BE where you're at!"

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Thankful Thursday

I'm continuing to enumerate the things for which I've learned to be thankful. Not necessarily tangible things. Some of these things are things for which I have only recently realized my thankfulness. And others are things for which I am only just beginning to understand the magnitude of my thankfulness.


This past week, I've been so thankful for...

1) the impact of rest on a weary, aging body
2) the joy of relationships with warm and encouraging friends
3) the friendship and loyalty of a brother who chooses to continue to be helpful - cheerfully
4) my husband's growing love for me, and for each additional day we have together
5) the beauty of the ocean's tides and that visual definition of "unending" - reminding me of God's unending love forever washing over me
6) the opportunity to share a smile with someone else
7) the very LIFE found in the words of the Bible, and for my freedom to own my very own copy

"Keep deception and lies far from me,
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the food that is my portion,"
.
Proverbs 30:8

Monday Musings...

This weekend we are taking David to camp for a week. It's going to be a little different for us, because we've never taken our son to this particular camp. But it will be a familiar adventure for him, since he's attended camp for the past 11 years, in TX. (We lived there until the fall of 2006.)

Although I am anxious to get some time with my spouse that doesn't include all of the responsibilities of having a son with special needs... I'm feeling a bit timid about the actual process of dropping him off. After all, this camp will be a new experience for our son's parents too! (that's me and my husband, of course!) We don't know the ropes, and we don't know the personnel, and we don't even know for sure the steps through the process.

So many things are like this for those of us who are parents of children who have special needs. Though a thing (camp, in this case) SOUNDS familiar or similar to something other parents have gone through... it might not actually be all that similar. For instance, maybe we will have medications to take with us and to explain to the camp staff, or maybe it will be the behavior of our child with special needs that needs our explanations.

But the other parents who drop off kids at camp, they probably have similar things to explain... and probably even similar feelings. They may feel that they have the SAME feelings about letting their child attend camp. Maybe it's a time of rejoicing that they'll have some peace and quiet; maybe it is that they'll get to do something that they can't do easily with their children along; or maybe it's that they are happy to be able to provide an adventure for their kids that the kids would otherwise not have. This is all similar to what parents of children with special needs feel... and yet it doesn't end there. But wait... oh, wait a minute!

Is it possible that parents of children with special needs don't understand what parents with what is referred to as "typical" children go through either? Isn't it really possible that, from either side of the coin, we do not have a clear view of the OTHER side? Isn't it possible that things, which each set of parents take for granted or worry about, are just as hard to conceive of whether you have a typical child or one who has special needs?

I'm not trying to say that one of these kinds of parenthood is easier or more difficult. ALL parenting is difficult. I'm trying to address an issue about whether or not BOTH kinds of parents are receiving the kind of encouragement and assistance that they need in order to be successful. Isn't it possible that by separating ourselves into different "camps" that we are indeed making it more difficult? Could it be that we might actually learn something from each other... across these boundaries that we have imagined between our groups?

I have friends who feel comfortable stating that they are in one or the other group of parents. I also have friends who are parents that have both kinds of children - those with special needs and those who are labelled "typical". What I see with these parents is that they know this: Parenting is one area of life where even the kinds of needs our children have doesn't change one important guideline for supporting others (our children, friends, or anyone!)... that of being considerate and understanding. We can be of such great encouragement to each other if we only could resist separating ourselves into different "camps"!

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. "

Romans 12:15
(New American Standard Bible)

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A special THANKS to all my friends out there...
YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!! : )

And for the record,
I'll be REJOICING this week - all week long,
and even into next week!

with much JOY,

CAROL

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Friday Free Time

Free time - what’s that? Truly “free” time is something we’ve totally lost sight of, I think. Really, there seems to be little “free” time. And yet, the demands on our time ( in a family with special needs) really do seem unavoidable.

But late last year, I became aware I was repeatedly using the same comment in response to questions about whether or not I had “accomplished” certain things. I kept hearing myself say, “I don’t have enough time.” I used that phrase to reply to my husband, to my friends, and even to God while praying. It was the use of it in my prayers that created the feeling of uneasiness which later peaked when I heard an interview with Sara Groves. She is a Christian vocal artist and was discussing how her life has been changed… relating to the use of her time. She relayed this story about how she began to view the incomplete use of her life’s resources…

Sara on her Spiritual Buffalo...
“There is a scene in the movie Dances with Wolves where the Sioux are on a much anticipated buffalo hunt. As they come up over a hill, they are shocked to see a field full of buffalo carcasses. The tragedy of that moment is that where the Sioux use every piece of the buffalo—the bladder holds water, the bone makes a tool, the skin is a covering for a tent- whoever has done this has taken the best part of the buffalo for himself and has left everything else to waste. There is no way to make good use of all that is lying in this field.

I was so convicted when I went to Africa that I am not using all of my spiritual buffalo. I have developed this one side of my personal relationship with God. I go to church, I have incredible worship, and I listen to incredible speakers. I have money to buy devotionals, and leisure time to do those devotionals. I have spent a lifetime grooming a personal faith in Christ, but have I been taking the best piece of the buffalo for myself? There has been a joy in discovering the good use of my life. There is a reciprocal redemption that happens when we enter into stories of helping our neighbor—not just around the world, but in our own communities. When I came home from Africa, instead of feeling guilty for my life, I began to hear God in a very clear way say, ‘that thing carries water, that thing makes a tool, that is covering for a tent.’ There is a beauty to the good use of a life, and to the acknowledgment that everything you have and do has a Kingdom purpose."

Now, I've begun to see my own incredible waste of time, and how it was caused by my lack of focusing on priorities and not using every moment (and every gift) that I have been given. I’m not talking about the “over-scheduling” that I referred to as I began this article. I am not talking about reducing sleep and rest periods. I AM talking about “not wasting” the minutes and hours in my days… and the abilities and treasures I’ve been gifted with, the relationships and the partnerships I’ve been given an opportunity to enter into, and the knowledge I’ve been given of the Most High God.

Now, I have a goal of lessening my wastefulness… making more choices to be useful, and to be aware of the unique opportunities that I have to allow my circumstances (and my reactions to them) to bring glory to God. I don’t mean to say that I want (or could handle) a life scheduled to the maximum. Of course I couldn’t handle that! I simply want to share that I’ve been impressed that my life’s impact can be MORE than just the sum of my days.

I’ve changed my mind about wanting “free time”. I want instead to freely use and give my time and resources. I want to lessen my waste of time and other resources. I want to make a real difference by the way I use what I have been gifted with... and I pray that God will receive the glory for it.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,"

Colossians 3:23

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