One thought that has been absolutely changing my life is this,
"Life change comes when we receive life with thanks and ask for nothing to change."
This sentence really got me thinking. Many times when I am praying, I am actually telling God what to do! Sure I thank Him for some things - but there is almost always the "now do this" list that follows. I am always pushing, always striving, alway planning, always pushing forward.
My prayers may go something like this:
"God, thank you for my many blessings. Thank you for my incredible kids, my husband. Thank you that we have enough food to eat. Thank you for the wonderful time I had with the kids at the park today. God, the kids start school soon. Please grant them friends and kind teachers. Please bless our business. Provide for ou Father. Show us the way to go. Bless the sale of our house. Please provide a buyer and clearly show us where to go next...."
I am not saying this is a bad prayer. I know God loves to hear from me. I know He wants to hear all my worries. I know He listens.
But there is something about JUST being thankful... resting in all He has done... all He has provided... being content... trusting in all He has promised... fully submitting.
There are a lot of decisions being made in our family right now. Big ones, the kind that keep me awake long into the night wondering what is right. Day care or preschool? Buy or build? New job or not? Trade vehicles? Bus or drive? There is a never ending to do list. Krissy needs to go to the eye doctor. Jamison needs a haircut. The girls need jeans for school. Joshua needs preschool supplies. I need to catch up at work. House needs cleaning. Lawn needs mowing. Bills need paying. Emails need answering. Calls need to be made.
My life is feeling pretty out of control.
Yet when I CHOOSE to rest in thankfulness, my anxious thoughts disappear.
My constant prayer these past days has been simple,
"Father God. Thank you that you have a plan for me, for Chad, for our business, for our home, for our children. Thank you that it is a plan that will prosper us, not harm us. Thank you that you promise to give us hope and a future."
Each time I get a serious case of the "what if's" I repeat this prayer and my spirit is calmed. As I rest in true thankfulness and soak in His promises, I am granted much peace. God does not need me to tell him what to do and how and when to act. He has my whole future written, it is full of stuff that will bring Him glory, stuff that will draw me closer to Him. And closer to Him is exactly where I want to be.
