I'm Working On It

February 12, 2017

Day 42:  The Source of all Comfort:
"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.  He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.  When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us." —2 Corinthians 1:3-4

This scripture was actually for Feb. 11, but I took yesterday off to just be. I appreciate Anderson's story that he shared because it gives me hope that the experiences I have had may be able to help someone else. Anderson's son David was born with a double cleft lip and palate and had to endure many surgeries to heal him. As any parent can imagine, it was a difficult time, but the Anderson family found comfort in God.  Once their son's surgeries were complete, Karen (Anderson's wife) was asked if she would be willing to meet with other parents and speak with them about her experiences.  Of course, she was more than willing.  She used her experiences to comfort other parents who were just beginning their journey to helping their child heal.

With the experiences I have had with my former church and now with my child and trying to reconcile my relationship with God, perhaps God can use me to help someone else in a similar situation, other parents of transgender kids who are struggling, or people who feel their church has been more detrimental than helpful.  I do not know... but I am willing.

Day 43: Counting Your Blessings:
Be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him.  Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you." —I Samuel 12:24

Day 43's lesson is really about seeing God with the same loving eyes that we see our spouse or partner.  "When we are in love, we count all the little things we love about the other person." Anderson believes that we need to have the same "kind of enthusiasm" for God.  "We need to stop and count all of the blessings he has given us. Too often, we don't even notice the things that God has done for us or the blessings he has placed in our path.  But even on those rare occasions when we do, we're more likely to attribute them to luck or coincidence."

I wouldn't say that I attribute the blessings in my life to luck or coincidence.  I'd say, at least in the not so distant past, I have attributed the blessings to some kind of test—a test that I must be failing.  I spoke about this before in "My Current Perspective:"

"Instead of viewing all of the wonderful things in my life (where we live, our financial security, the luxuries, pleasantries, and comforts we have in our lives) as blessings, they become a piece of God's test. He is giving us over to the pleasures of this world and what it leads to, which is death—eternal. Will we see past the smoke screen and realize these things are hindering us from truly following God?" 

I am trying to change that perspective, and I believe I have made some progress with that.  I am trying to simply be grateful and thank God instead of imagining how he may be using situations to teach me a lesson or test me.  I am looking for ways that God is reaching out to me with loving hands. I agree with Anderson when he says that "we often don't even notice the things that God has done for us."

I am working on changing that.