Thankfulness

Of Course the title is going to have"Thank" in it! It's almost Thanksgiving! The one time a year we remember what we are thankful for. "Thank you God for my husband, thank you for my kids, thank you for your love, Amen." Whew! Got that out of the way til next year! In all seriousness, throughout the entire year, as a mom we want to be appreciated. We want to know that what we are doing as a mom means something to our family. That we aren't just an invisible person walking around the house cleaning, washing, wiping, cleaning, washing, wiping.. you get the idea. Do we want that thank you every time? Or want an "Oh mom! That was so great! We love you and we are so thankful for all that you do!" Big hug, cue the music, dim the lights, and cut. That's a wrap! If you wanted that, you should turn on the Leave it to Beaver show. Ok, I can't lie, I would love some appreciation for just some of the things I do around the house. Ask yourself though, do we want that praise from our family? Or do we/should we want that praise from God? It's those two simple words, Thank You. On the other side of it, how often do we say Thank You? Or are truly grateful for someone or something? How often do we take people and things for granted? How often do we take God for granted? Because in all reality, everything we have is a gift from God. Our family, our salvation, our personality, our home, our food, our everything. Our trials, our hard times, our finances, our stubborn children (oh wait, how did that get in there?), our everything is His. With a thankful heart, we have an enormous opportunity to share God with our kids. We are their number one example of Christ and because we are to be Christ-like, as it says in Ephesians 5:1-2, we can't go around having a grumbling heart. How awesome is it that God entrusted our children to us? He knew that we were the right mamas to take care of the right children for us! I know, I know, ya'll are saying, Have you met my child?! Really! And seriously, yes, really! I have been there and at times think the same things! Then I am reminded of a few verses in God's love letter to us about our children, and I hope that you are encouraged to be thankful for your children like I have been through the eyes of God.

Psalms127:3-4, "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth." (praise the Lord because imagine how much fun that would be at 50!)


Proverbs 22:6, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

(And this is my favorite passage out of the 3) Psalms 139: 13-18, "For you created my inmost being; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your throughts O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you."

I have to say, these verses have been a huge blessing in my life when looking at my husband and children and other people through God's eyes. I was so important to my Papa that he knew me before I was even made in my mother's womb. He knew what my days would be like. He knew my struggles and my frustrations before they even happened! So, I sit and think. If I am THAT precious to my Papa, how precious is my husband? How precious are my children to him? It gives me goose bumps just thinking of the love my Papa has for me. When you look at life, people, etc through God's eyes, it's hard not to be thankful! He made your stubborn child stubborn. He made your little warrior boy. He made your compliant child compliant. And he knew that you were just the right person to help mold them and shape them and teach them about God. So even though the house chores are piling up and a little help would be greatly appreciated. Or even if you just got done with cleaning the bathroom and not even 5 minutes later the bathroom sink looked like the flood of the Bible just swooped in (true story) right behind you, laugh and be thankful that God has given you the privilege of being a wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend. Be encouraged that God knows and sees your efforts and he knows your heart! He will give you the praise! And in all honesty, isn't that the most important praise we can get is from our Papa?