I’ve tried to be intentional about practicing gratitude and thankfulness, not just in late November, but every day. In light of this, I wanted to present an acrostic of items for which I am thankful. This also doubles as my reflections on the happenings on 2022, which was an equally wild and wonderful year for me. So here I go.
T:
Truth of the gospel
1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the message of the cross is
foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the
power of God.” I was looking back at
what I wrote in this blog this year, and I was struck by something I said back in
February. I decided to cite a portion
again here; I said: ‘The truth is, if it weren’t for the shed blood of Jesus
that paid the penalty for my sins, I would be completely sunk. I would drown in the waters of my guilt and
shame. But because of my faith and trust
in Jesus and the work He did for me, I just want express my worship and
gratitude to Him.’
I went on to quote from Brandon Lake’s song “Gratitude”. Here’s a sampling of that song again: “All my
words fall short; I’ve got nothing new.
How could I express all my gratitude?
I could sing these songs, as I often do, but every song must end, and
You never do. So I throw up my hands,
and praise You again and again. ‘Cause
all I have is a hallelujah.”
H:
Health
Health is a wonderful, but extremely fragile gift that I
continually learn to relish. For
example, this year I dealt with a sickness that resulted in a lingering sinus
infection. This was one of the worst
sinus infections I’ve ever dealt with.
Furthermore, as I write these words, my widowed mother was hit very hard
with the flu. I’ll spare you the
symptoms and the details, but you can imagine how this flu has been a
particularly disruptive episode. All of
this to remind us that health is a gift not to be taken for granted.
A: Amazing
blessings
When you compose an acrostic like this, it awakens you to
the blessings from the hand of God, that you can easily take for granted. For instance, back in April, when my trusty Dodge
Neon finally gave out, I was blessed to quickly find a great Toyota Corolla. Everyone I talked to stated how good a car
this is, and it is true, it has served me well.
I also marvel at how I drove the car home on Good Friday of all days. But there have certainly been more blessings
than just that. For example, God has led
me to new friendships that I can envision being multi-year friendships. As the old hymn says, praise God from whom
all blessings flow!
N:
Nothing can separate from God’s love
While there were great highs in 2022, there were great lows
as well. There were intense episodes of
sufferings that I will never forget; instances that cut me to core of who I am,
in my very heart and soul. Even though I
am choosing gratitude this doesn’t mean I think life is all puppies, rainbows,
and sunshine. It isn’t. There are incredibly stormy weather patterns
as well.
Romans 8 says, “I am persuaded that neither death nor life…nor
things present nor things to come, nor high nor depth, nor any other created
thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord” (verses 38-39). How humbling
it is to know that God’s love is there for me, no matter from the
unfaithfulness from others, or my own unfaithfulness.
K:
Kindness
We live in an increasingly unkind world. I’m so grateful for the instances of kindness
I have seen. I have heard a Christian
radio disc jockey say a certain statement so much it’s repetition is bordering
on comical; he says, “The world is still full of nice people. But if you can’t find one, be one.”
S: Sustaining
of life
This year marks a milestone for me: 40 years ago, God
rescued me from the grip of a disease called Infantile Spasms. He breathed life into me, when I was on the
brink of death those decades ago. But
2022 has taught me afresh about the gift of life. I’ve spent several hours, blogs, and tears,
contemplating the loss of two iconic actors.
What a gift it is to enjoy another day!
Kevin
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