This week has been full of joys. Not the least of which was a little two-day getaway to Syracuse to revisit my MOPS roots.
MOPS - Mothers of Preschoolers - the ministry that consumed my life for more than ten years. Now that I'm no longer eligible to be a MOPS mom because my kids went and grew up, I am occasionally invited to come back and speak to these ladies. I got to do it twice this week at two different MOPS groups and I loved every minute of it.
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This is my home group and one of my favorite sights. Mommies.
”Mothering
is no second-rate ministry for the spiritually and intellectually mediocre.
Mothering is a Christ-rated ministry for soul and mind sculptors and what could
Mothering is a Christ-rated ministry for soul and mind sculptors and what could
ever be substandard about passing on Christ’s standard?"
At this group, the Coordinator asked me to speak on Gratitude. At first, I thought, 'that's so boring' because giving
thanks seems to be sort of fashionable right now.
Everybody's doing it.
We're teaching our kids to do it.
Some write something they are thankful for everyday on Facebook.
It's what November is all about.
I’m
sure you’ve been presented at some time with the idea of keeping a list of
things you’re thankful for. It's a very good thing to do. But talk about it for 40 minutes?
So we went a little deeper. We explored both gratitude and contentment.
I looked up gratitude and here's what I found.
Synonyms Antonyms
Appreciation ingratitude
Acknowledgement thanklessness
Recognition selfishness
Thankfulness discontent
Which
list do you like better and which is most characteristic of you?
Isn’t
it easy to be grateful when life is going great and happiness abounds? Your kids are doing one cute thing after
another. Your husband is thoughtful and
helpful and romantic. You have steady income. You have lots of friends who enjoy your company. Everyday is fun. At times like this we easily appreciate, acknowledge and recognize all the things that make
us joyful and we eagerly give thanks. This is what Facebook was created for!
We can sing this:
Blesssed be Your Name in the land that is plentiful
where your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your Name Blessed be Your Name when the sun's shining down on me
when the world's all as it should be
Blessed be Your Name
Aaaahhh. Contentment. This is where it's found, right? Or is it?
BUT,
maybe you’re not in a happy season right now.
Maybe your kids are not turning out as you hoped. Maybe your marriage is in a rocky place. Maybe you are having financial trouble and your future is unsure. Maybe
your mother-in-law is interfering…and winning.
Your friends are getting all their prayers answered and yours are hitting the ceiling. Everyday is hard.
We’re certainly not putting that
on our list or telling the world of Facebook are we?
Are we content here? That's not so simple.
I
wonder if we can learn how to be grateful even here. To sing the next verse:
Blessed be Your Name when I'm found in the desert place
though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your Name
Blessed be Your Name on the road marked with suffering
when there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your Name
Paul,
the apostle who wrote most of the New Testament of the Bible, made a startling
declaration in the book of Philippians.
“I
have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know
what it is to have plenty. I have
learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well
fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Phil. 4:11,12
I looked up contentment.
Synonyms
Comfort
Happiness
Ease
Fulfillment
Gladness
Gratification
Peace
Pleasure
Satisfaction
Serenity
Wow,
these are the most glorious words. Give
me all of that! I want to live there
every day, don’t you?
But let's get real. It's not always this way.
Some of you know what I’m talking about.
We’ll
know how we’re doing in the contentment department if we look at the next list.
Antonyms
Discomfort
Displeasure
Dissatisfaction
Misery
Sadness
Unhappiness
Well, that's no feel-good list is it? I certainly don't want those to be the characteristics describing me. So how do we give thanks when we are in the desert, walking through the wilderness on the road marked with suffering?
Here's what Nancy Leigh DeMoss suggests.
"Thanksgiving is a debt. It is something we owe. When we bring our thanks before God, we are recognizing Him as our source of blessing, every protection, every heartbeat, every rescue from every trial - even when His chosen form of deliverance just means supplying us the perseverance we need to see it through. We have no life, no hope, no health, no grace, no strength, no peace, no holiness, no anything apart from what He has given and continues to give us."*
That is difficult and wonderful at the same time. I underlined the part that really stood out to me. He is still our source of everything even when.
Above, I left out the last line of Paul's statement, the answer to how we do this contentment thing.
“I
have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know
what it is to have plenty. I have
learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well
fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything THROUGH HIM who gives
me strength.” Phil. 4:11,12
We
can do this, my friends. We can be grateful
when things are good and when things aren’t because we do it THROUGH HIM who
gives us strength. We don't have to come up with it on our own. This is good news for me. However, it does require our focus
to be on Jesus and us leaning into Him for what we need. He will give it.
There's more. Look at this.
“Oh,
the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How
unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!
Who
has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?
Who
has ever given to God, that God should repay him?
For
from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
To
Him be the glory forever! Amen.” Romans 11:33-36
The
bottom line is that it’s all about Him. Always has been. Our discontentment and subsequent misery and unhappiness comes when we forget that and life becomes about us.
When
we center our hearts and minds around this truth, we become content and gratitude
follows. Or we give thanks and find ourselves content. Which comes first? I think it goes both ways. How cool is that?
I truly believe the daily
practice of writing down all the joys, all the ways Jesus loves us, can help us
when it gets rough.
Remember what contentment looks like
Comfort
Happiness
Ease
Fulfillment
Gladness
Gratification
Peace
Pleasure
Satisfaction
Serenity
And what it doesn't
Discomfort
Displeasure
Dissatisfaction
Misery
Sadness
Unhappiness
Which do you choose? Whether it's easy this year or painful, give thanks to the One who knows everything about you, loves you and has a plan for your life that is for your good and His glory.
*The Quiet Place
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