Each thanksgiving provides a deeper sense of gratitude, rootedness, and peace. This is the journey of sanctification, of refinement, and of deepening, for which I am so thankful.
Each year, as God grows and matures us, I am finding new joy, deeper peace, and unexpected hope. This year has held deep grief and loss, and God has held us firm and continues to strengthen us with His presence in the midst of our grieving, seeking, and waiting. Our foundation is not financial, not on our health or physical well-being, not human approval, and not on our personal or professional success: And sometimes it takes losing those things for us to recognize it. Our foundation is Jesus Christ. As a result, we can always, always, always sincerely offer thanks.
And I’m thankful for these precious people who walk alongside me, for whom I get the privilege of shepherding and training, each offer the opportunity of iron sharpening iron.
My hands are wide open. I am learning to value the valuable and let go of the transient things. Each season of thanksgiving offers the opportunity to take inventory of what I truly value and let God weed out the unnecessary things that I’ve been clinging to and worshiping, opening up the space for me to come running back home in a brand new way.
I’m thankful for grace, and i don’t mean that flippantly…I’m painfully slow in my process of valuing the things of the kingdom of heaven, and in the sharpening of parts of me that need to be sharpened and the softening of my parts that need softened, I tend to be pretty dense at times.
But God is patient, as are those who love me. I’m safe: in the arms of my beloveds, and I’m safely rooted in the unshakable Kingdom of God. And because of that, I can step out in “unsafe” places as God leads: Because in Him, I’m safe.
The Lord is my Shepherd. I want for nothing. (Psalm 23).
The Beautiful Broken 