Thankful hearts...

When I was living in Houston I would meet with my spiritual director every week. And that continued up until our wedding. However, after our wedding we moved away and now I only talk to Sister K (or Special K as my roomie named her) once or twice a month over the phone.

I miss meeting with her. She truly is so special. She’s touched so many lives with her Christ-like presence. Just sitting and talking with her I could feel His warmth and for that I am forever grateful.

Since moving I carry our conversations with me in my heart because they taught me so much. One specifically has been running through my mind quite a bit lately and I wanted to share.

Gratitude

Special K always talked about having a grateful heart. A heart that is always thanking the Lord in all times. Times of joy, times of sorrow, times of confusion, times of blessing, times of anger, times of peace, times of certainty and uncertainty - and for all in intensive purposes, every possible time under the sun. She would always remind me to try and keep my heart thanking the Lord and through this my heart would leave room for God to work to occupy the space that is His in the first place. Through my heart being filled with gratitude in good times and in bad, my eyes, heart, and soul would be more open and ready to see God’s gracious Hand ever so gently leading the way. All because I would be thanking Him each step of the way. An act that ultimately helps me focus on His Perfect Will instead of my own ideas of what would be “perfect”. A thankful heart keeps me looking outward rather than getting stuck in my own head of what I think He should give me or do for me in my life.

Everything works together for good for those who love the Lord. -Romans 8:28

Special K would then remind me of the scripture quoted above. Remind me that no matter what is going on in my life, He loves me and therefore all things would come together for good in my life in His Perfect Time (which is usually where I get into trouble because I have my time stuck in my head lol).

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad. -Psalm 118:24

My family has again been reminded of this special message today. God has perfectly orchestrated something so sweet and kind. We almost missed it because we had our hearts set on something else, but we felt Him tugging, telling us to wait and be patient. Thankfully we did - just not with a thankful heart because we got stuck on what we thought would be just great. But, now we see. We see what He had in mind. And while talking and reflecting on the last week or so, we kind of chuckle to ourselves. We laugh only because we are grateful. We laugh because we are in awe at how much He loves us and how patient He is with us (again!)! We laugh because we know we didn’t start off in perfect obedience to His Will but he nudged us ever so clearly when we most needed it. And I think we mostly laugh out of relief. Relief that He is our God. Our God who makes loving promises and keeps them. Our God who has infinite Mercy. Our God who is Perfect Love and shares that with us through such amazing grace.

So now, our hearts are filled with gratitude again. We are in that place where we feel so much peace. Peace that only He can share.

Thank you, Special K

I thank Sister for reminding me to try and keep a thankful heart at all times. Literally, almost every meeting we had, we would talk about what I could be thankful for. And that reality filled with gratitude would ultimately have me leaving her a much more peaceful and excited child of God. A child of God with a thankful heart that drives her to trust The God who He keeps His promises rather than forget that He ever made them in the first place (which I so easily do in my own self absorbed way of thinking).

Thank you, God

So, thank you God for loving this family. Thank you, dear Lord, for sharing the Grace that we needed to follow your Will. Thank you Lord, for your handmaid, Special K. And lastly, thank you for everything under the sun - always.

note: this isn’t the last you’ll be hearing about Special K ;)