Trust

I’ve been writing a little book about gratitude. It’s sort of a cross between a collection of essays and an acrostic poem.

But good golly, Miss Molly – the thought of publishing anything that even comes close to being a book is a bit yikes, so I thought I’d just stick my toe in the water a little and give you a preview. Here is just a part of one entitled simply Trust.

As we navigate through the foreign waters of in everything give thanks, we experience a strange tension. When the sky falls in, the world urges us to shake our fists at the heavens. Sometimes, we just convince ourselves to power through when the going gets rough.

But during those hours when life seems the most bleak, Heaven asks that we trust God, the Father…

…We are not told that earthly things will always work out.

God never said He would fix everything.

Answers and easy solutions are often elusive or missing completely.

However, the hope of the future is freely and generously given to all of us. The Father tells us time and time and time again that He loves us and holds us close. He speaks through every prophet and disciple – even Jesus himself – and sends the same message: Have faith, my children. Trust in My wisdom, a wisdom so vast that it cannot be contained by the minds of men. We can be sure the God of the Universe sees every tear, watches every stumble, feels every heartache, every heart break.

I am compiling a list of questions to ask at the St. Peter’s Information Booth. Like What happens to our pets? and Is there really a guardian angel for everybody, or do some of us have to share? And a real biggie: Why DO the good die young? I don’t think those things will be important when we get there, but it’s my way of handling some of the issues I wrestle with.

For now, I choose to offer thanks for the blessings I enjoy. It is not always my first response to trouble. But it is always my goal.

Jesus did not tell us to be thankful for our circumstances. He doesn’t expect cartwheels when the flight is cancelled or the Check Engine light comes on. He doesn’t dismiss our feelings of despair when the phone call comes in the middle of the night. He is not cruel or heartless. He does not expect us to be thankful for things that inevitably cause us pain or harm.

But, in His holy goodness, He stands with us during those storms. He is faithful and true. I am thankful because I know I can trust the Father. I can trust Him completely.

I have a plan for this project – hoping that it will not only bless those of you who read my words but also those we’d like to invite to our party.

It’s gonna be a minute before it’s ready, with a cover and preface and ISBN and all of that writerly shenanigans. Things I’m not used to choosing or figuring out or arranging.

But until that time, my lovelies, I thought we could talk a little about thankfulness, and maybe start with how trusting God the Father is so important to our spiritual health and sense of gratitude.

Any comments? or questions? Perhaps something you’d like to add that would make Trust even better.

I’m looking forward to what y’all have to say.

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