When I start to lose thankfulness, I literally lose the plot a bit. I stop being grateful, and become ever so 'Woe is me', with a huge dollop of 'me', and a bit more 'me' thrown in for good measure. Being nine months pregnant, with aches and pains in places there really shouldn't be aches and pains, and hormones tipping me just over the edge of sanity, really helps me justify the 'me perspective'; really helps me justify the moans. The Bible is pretty clear when it comes to moaning and complaining. It simply says not to do it. In 1 Corinthians 10, it reminds us that the people of God who grumbled, were destroyed! Gulp. Philippians 2 tells us to do everything without grumbling or complaining. EVERYTHING?! Double gulp!
Having a grumble or a moan, tends to suggest that we don't really trust God in it all.
So what do I do with all my woes? Well, this morning, through tears I told God all about them, because the Psalms in the Bible, also encourage me to be real with God, rather than cover my actual feelings up with religious sentiment.
"As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me.
Evening, morning and noon,I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice."Psalm 55v16-17
I've come to notice that when I tell God my woes, (rather than just sob them snottily out to the husband or a friend or social media, or even worse, just keep them on 'repeat' in my own mind) my focus and my perspective does change. When I involve God in the process, my woes might still be exactly the same, but they can't be quite as big as they were before. When I come before the creator of the universe; the perfect, just God, who loves me unconditionally and knows everything about anything, including little old me, well then my woes do have to fall into line with His bigness, His vastness, His infinite care, His faithfulness, His forgiveness.... And I start to trust Him with it all again.
So I started to thank God and just like with Pringles, once you pop, you just can't stop! Or a better reference may be Matt Redman's '10,000 reasons' song. He tries to convey that there is no end to what He's thankful to God for. There are at least 10,000 reasons for his heart to find. So my grateful list began...
Thank you God for the cross. Thank you that the reason I'm aching is due to the privilege of carrying a child within me. Thank you that the reason my house looks like we've been burgled, is because of the blessing of children. Thank you that with stock, any leftovers can be made into soup. Thank you for the free babysitting service called cbeebies. Thank you that someone upgraded their PlayStation so we got a free one. Thank you that the washing machine works, every single day. Thank you that wet wipes clean most stains ever invented by a small child. Thank you that when all else fails, there is always cheesy pasta. Thank you for big elasticated pants. Thank you for clean water which isn't just available and drinkable, but I can lay in a whole vat of the stuff, with muscle soak bubbles. Thank you that when my little girl is sucking on the end of the toilet brush, that the bleach has hopefully killed any trace of anything else. Thank you that I've been married so long that the husband's Tupperware meltdowns don't get to me any more. Thank you for friends who are willing to hang out with my kids. Thank you that Facebook means I stay in touch with people far away. Thank you for my Dyson. Thank you for when the Tupperware matches the lids. Thank you for Dairy Milk. Thank you that I'm heavily pregnant, which means I have an actual excuse for once, not to hoover the stairs. Thank you God for the cross...
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this
is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5v16-17
Thank you God for Monkeys
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