Psalm 116

This week we studied another praise psalm with an anonymous writer.  Like so many of the psalms it begins with praise, recounts a time of hardship, remembers the Lord's faithfulness and deliverance, and then concludes with praise.  It's an overall picture of our lives:  good times, hardships, questions and struggles, learning curves, restorations, good times... and the cycle repeats.

Since we are entering the week of Thanksgiving, we took time in our class to share some of the things we are thankful for this year, and I went first!  This year I am thankful for my good health.  I've spent the past two Thanksgiving weeks in the hospital recovering from surgeries.  It's a long story, but the timeline is this:

• Nov 2007 - partial hysterectomy, 10 days later developed a complication which led to
• Nov 2007 - surgery to correct an obstruction, which resulted in
• Nov 2007 - staph infection in the surgical incision
• Nov 2007 - Feb 2008 - antibiotics & wound care, which didn't kill the staph and heal the wound, so
• Feb 2008 - debriding surgery for the staph
• Nov 2008 - pelvic pain caused by a large ovarian cyst
• Nov 2008 - gyn surgery to remove the cyst and remaining ovary

Since I've spent the past two Novembers in the hospital, I was a little anxious this year as I flipped the calendar over!  I have actually asked friends to pray for what we've termed my "November Nerves," and so far, so good!!  But I've learned so much through that experience, and I am thankful every single day for the blessing of restored health.  I do NOT take it for granted and do my best to take care of my body.

But I am also thankful for little things every day, things like:

• having enough milk for breakfast
• clear sinuses
• a paid-for car
• technology (computers, cell phones, my blackberry, online banking, Facebook, cable tv, wireless internet...)
• good weather for a morning walk
• comfortable shoes
• good hair days
• jeans that fit
• family, friends and neighbors
• our community and the great schools my kids have been blessed to attend
• text messages from the kids telling me about their days
• emails of ALL kind - funny ones, uplifting ones, prayer requests...
• my Bibles and all the study resources I have
• my independence and mobility

And then I remember the spiritual blessings, which are endless -- salvation, hope, joy, peace, faith, grace, mercy, love, protection, victory...  I've found that it's hard to be "down in the dumps" when I count my blessings, so I try to make it a part of my day - EVERYDAY.

I recently heard a wonderful sermon on JOY, and it came right after a great devotional I read that was written by one of my favorite men, Andrew Murray (who had to be one of the most joyful, faithful, peaceful dudes in all of south Africa, and I can't wait to meet him in Heaven).  He wrote, "... there is nothing so attractive as joy, no preaching so persuasive as the sight of hearts made glad.  This makes gladness such a strong element in Christian character.  There is no proof of the reality of God's love and the blessing He bestows, which people so quickly feel the strength of, as when the joy of God overcomes the trials of life.  And for the Christian's own welfare, joy is just as indispensable; the joy of the Lord is his strength (Neh 8:10)..." (taken from Abiding  in Christ)

So as I enter Thanksgiving week, I remember the cycle of the past two years and the various struggles I've had.  But I also continue to remember God's attributes and His blessings and His faithfulness, and like the apostle Peter, "[I'm] filled with an inexpressible and glorious JOY." (1 Peter 1:8)