Concentrate on Thanks

I had to do our staff devotions this week. I shared with them a devotional written by Corrie ten Boom, and what I had journaled about it. It's been on my mind a lot recently, so I thought I'd share it with all of you.

"Condition in our barracks in the concentration camp at Ravensbruck were terrible. When we first arrived, I told Betsie I could not bear the lice that lived in our filthy blankets and mattresses. She replied, 'You must thank God for everything, even for lice.'

"Betsie was right. Because of the bugs which infested our barrack, the women guards and officers kept their distance, and we were able to hold our Bible studies without fear. God has a use for the vermin, after all!

"Sometime what we see as a curse one day becomes a blessing the next day. How much more simple it would be if we would learn to thank God for everything instead of using our own judgment."

Ephesians 5:20 RSV "Always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father"

When I read this devotional for the first time, in October of 2007, this is what I journaled:
"Lord, I thank you for hard decisions - they help me to learn to trust you. I thank you for not giving me all the money I think I need - it shows me that what you provide is sufficient. Lord, I thank you for difficult students - they teach me patience. I thank you for hard to please parents - they make me a better teacher. I thank you for allowing me to live away from GR - it has taught me independence."

My additions for January of 2009: "Lord, I thank you for cars that don't always run right - it reminds me that too often I worry about earthly things. I thank you for being sick so often this year - it slows me down to spend more time with you and my family. Lord, I thank you for a daughter who does not always sleep through the night - it gives me more time to pray. Finally, I thank you for job uncertainty - it reminds me that my certainty is in YOU, no in a job or the economy."

AMEN!