What A Question?

 

This blog post is from November 19, 2014. 

A good title catches your eye. A good song lyric stays in your head. A good caption speaks volumes.

And that's what happened to me as I was reading through the November issues of Home Life and Mature Living. "What if This is as Good as it Gets?" caught my eye as well as "When the Rain Falls . . . Things Begin to Grow."

As a writer I was trained to create catchy titles because that's what draws the eye. Some of the titles I've created that were published are: "Are You Afraid of a Divorced Person?" "A Life Changing Truck," "My Melody of Words," "Out of Tune" and "Is the Answer Reverence." Titles get you thinking, and that's just what I did with "What if This is as Good as it Gets?"

Am I okay with that? Here we are two weeks before Thanksgiving, a time of giving thanks for God's blessings. Am I truly thankful for my life and all the joy and sadness I've been through? Wow. That's a doozy of a question.

The truth is, we all have our stories of life . . . the joys, the disappointments, the happy times and sad times. There's always something we wish we could rewrite to have a happy ending. Many times I voice David's words in Psalm 55:6: "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest." Unfortunately, I don't have wings.

Accepting all that has happened to me doesn't mean I like everything, or I'm happy about everything. It means I've accepted my life and trust God. Whether it's good or bad, God picks up the pieces and continues to work in my life. He continues to work. He continues to work. Thankfully, He continues to work.

All that my life is, God has provided and directed, and I trust Him to bring me safely home to Him.

"When the Rain Falls . . . Things Begin to Grow." When I accept God's control over all the things that happen in my life, patience grows, understanding grows, humility grows, compassion grows, acceptance grows. Of course, if I don't accept God's control, bitterness grows, anger grows, indifference grows, hate grows, dissatisfaction grows.

Life sure is a journey. As I age, accepting God's control in my life and letting Him work, gets easier. It sure helps my day-to-day living when I accept His way. But I'm not perfect yet and still have a ways to go before my growing season is up.

Words by Melody Beattie on gratitude:

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order,

and confusion into clarity. It turns a meal into a feast,

a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.

Gratitude makes sense out of our past,

brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."

I believe I have accepted the course of my life, definitely not liking everything, but I can say: "Yes, I'm okay with it as long as God is in control." Father down in Psalm 55, my heart is expressed completely: "But as for me, I call to God." And that's definitely a reason to celebrate this Thanksgiving!

Two little titles brought quite a discussion in my mind. What about you? What if this is as good as it gets? Are you okay with it? I think it's worth your time to consider as you prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas.

God is the giver of all good things. "Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together." 

Psalm 34:3

By His Grace . . .