The Storm

Today was our last day of school before Thanksgiving Break.  On her way to school, a friend of mine was hit broadside by someone who ran a red light.  Luckily she was driving a Suburban, but her youngest son still remains sensitive about the event.  The three of them are sore from the impact and will likely be so for a few days.  This Thanksgiving as they visit with their family, they will give thanks for their lives.  Sitting around a table with family and a gravely ill grandmother, they will thank God for their lives while praying for God to give them strength and peace to endure the illness of their loved one.

Another friend of mine is fighting for his life against pancreatic cancer.  His mother-in-law is also struggling with breast cancer and he recently lost his father-in-law and grandmother.  Another friend of mine is dealing with the effects of Lyme disease while her husband recovers from surgery to remove cancer from his body.  Another friend of mine has recently lost three cats for different reasons, had to get another car and is being evicted from his apartment for breaking "new" rules.  I have another group of friends who are still dealing with Sandy and the terrible effects and devastation it had on their homes and lives.  I'm sure you are familiar with the statement "When it rains, it pours."  This Thanksgiving as these people sit around a table, their hearts heavy with burden, they will thank God for something so very basic.  They will thank him for life.  Another day of breathing and another day to wake up to the people we love so dearly.  Many people will sit in a shelter or in a hotel because their homes were ravaged by storm or even fire, with nothing left of their former lives.  Sometimes when we are so heavily burdened we have to focus on our extreme blessings to remind us of the goodness we do enjoy.

The other day on the radio I heard a song that I can recall hearing at different times in my life while tears poured down my face.  Wondering why I was hurting so badly and wanting to be out of the middle of the storm I was living.  Some days I was so angry I would refuse to turn my radio on to listen to KLOVE because I didn't want to hear what God had to say.  If he wanted to speak to me he could do it by changing my situation.  I was missing the point of my suffering.  I needed to turn to the only one who could lift me out of it.  I can't even begin to know what each of you are going through.  Maybe it is a good time in your life and maybe you are in your darkest pit and can't seem to find a way out.  Click here to hear Casting Crowns song that truly helped me to make it through my darkest storm.

I hope this Thanksgiving you are able to be thankful for all of the blessings you have and for all of the people in your life, but mostly I hope you will be thankful for the Blesser.  You are loved and I am thankful for you.  Goodnight Friends.