Thursday, November 7, 2013

The Goodness of Thanksgiving with a Twist

So today, I want to do something just a bit different.

I LOVE Thanksgiving!! 
We all know this by now I know.
But I love it SO much more than I used to.
Why?
Jesus.
He is why Thanksgiving is SO much sweeter to me
than it ever used to be.

I came back to the LORD 
some 17+ years ago, when I was 30.
(Don't do the math.   I am young. I am young. I am young. =)
Before that time, Thanksgiving was just not that special.
Hardship after hardship made it well.....
hard.

It was a day to eat a little different meal 
and rarely anything more.

This all changed when Jesus and I became BFF's.
IT ALL CHANGED!!!

I became TRULY Thankful.
And thus, the heart of Thanksgiving came ALIVE to me!!!

Now let me just be completely transparent here.
This is NOT the post I had intended for today.
I mean it is four weeks until Thanksgiving.
I actually had scheduled for food posts to start today.
But something happened last night,
that changed the course of today's post.

Let me explain:

On Wednesday evenings at church we have prayer meeting.
It has changed me.
I love it so very much.
Jesus is there.
POWERFULLY.
He meets me.
He changes me in that meeting.
Yes, I do have an ongoing relationship with Him.
Not just a let's meet on Sundays and Wednesdays.  
But there is something so very powerful happening
at the Prayer meeting.
It is a distinct moving of the Spirit in Power and Truth.
AMAZING!!

Well every Wednesday night when you walk into the auditorium,
you are handed a prayer card.
It is a card that houses a prayer request.
These cards stay on a 30 day rotation.
So they are prayed for every Wed night for a month,
and then the Pastors take all the prayer cards for the month
and prayer over them on Pastors Prayer day.
Oh to be a fly on the wall that day.
AMAZING!!

So last night I was handed this prayer card,
that deeply moved me.
I generally am moved by the prayer cards,
but there was something different, deeper about this one,
that practically moved me to tears the moment I started
reading it.

We will call her C.

On this card she tells me that she wants to feel the closeness
of God.  She believes, but she just doesn't feel close to Him.
She feels distant from Him.

Her past.....
Hard.....
Her present.....
Hard.
Her God.....
GINORMOUS!!!

I just felt God wash all over me this feeling of how much 
He wants her to know Him.
But she feels distant.

I know this place.
I know this feeling.
I know this wilderness.

In that moment, thankfulness washed over me.
Thankfulness that I am NOT who I used to be.
Thankfulness that He is continuing to mold me.
Make me.
Change me.

I prayed that C would KNOW Jesus.
Truly know Him.
We can do church.
We can do christianity.
But it is ALL about relationship.
God wants relationship.
This I know.
Church is fabulous and I love it,
but there is a difference between doing church
and being the church.

My heart is breaking for C,
but at the same time my heart is so full
because she is seeking.
She wants to know Him.
God is there.
He is in that.
He desires for her to know Him.

What an amazing thing!!!
And so very like our God.

So today, I am full.
Knowing that I am not all that.
I assure you.
But I know the One who is ALL THAT!!!
And He loves me and C right where we're at.
Praise Him!!

___________________________________________________________________________

So next week will start the beloved food posts.
I have two FABULOUS guests lined up.
WOOT!!!

Have a Blessed and Beautiful Day ~~ dawn

1 comment:

  1. Her God.....

    GINORMOUS!!!

    I love that... that right there is what its all about!!!!

    What a beautiful post friend!!!

    ReplyDelete