A Heart of Thanksgiving

Have you ever lost a child?

The other day I was talking to a friend and we got to talking about theme parks and I was reminded again of that feeling. The one where everything inside of you stops. Your heart. Your breathing. Your logic. Your sanity.

We were at Seaworld last February with some of my Michigan family and at one point we decided it would be a good thing if both the dads could go on a rollercoaster together. While we waited for them, we continued walking around, Cooper alongside of me and Griffin in the stroller. At one point, we stopped to look at a map and began talking about what we wanted to do next. As the conversation went on, I looked up from the map and pulled the stroller canopy back to check on Griffin. And you can guess what I found--nothing.

My immediate response is not worth repeating, but my family knew to act quickly.

If you've ever been in this situation, you know the immediate effects on your entire body. Even as I type, my heartbeat is quickening and my neck is getting hotter. I was in a panic.

I remember looking 360 degrees and not seeing him and thinking so many terrible things. I was desperate to find him, yet I couldn't go in any one direction in fear that he went the other way. If it hadn't been for my mom and dad and sister and their immediate action to go in all directions, I don't know what I would've done. I was looking at walkways, doors, people thinking he could be anywhere when all of a sudden I heard my mom yell, "He's over here!". What took less than one minute of searching seemed like eternity. And as I ran towards him not knowing if I should hug him or spank the living daylights out of him, I felt a sense of relief so deep that I grabbed him with tears in my eyes and nothing else seemed to matter.

Have you ever felt the weight of something so huge lift right off your shoulders that it has brought you to tears in thankfulness? A situation resolved? A child found? A sickness healed? A life given back?

As I was talking with my friend, I was reminded of those few moments of panic in searching for my son, but I was also reminded of that sweet moment when he was found. The point where everything seemed so clear. When all the little worries of the day got put into their place and I realized that life could be so much harder. Such relief. Such thankfulness to God in heaven for His provision.

Do you have a heart of thanks? I know that moments like this are quickly forgotten--at least for me they are. I go back to living life and I forget how many times God has come to my rescue. How many times He's given me another chance. And there are so many. Most of them written down in old journal entries. All I have to do is flip through one of my highschool journals or old college journal or even just after graduating to see how very blessed my life has turned out to be. By the time I close the cover to one of my journals, I am so thankful for how life has turned out given all the possiblities in the past.

My boys are running up to couch, throwing themselves into the air and somersaulting themselves onto the cushions as I type...yes, this is how I blog some days. In the middle of it all. And I am thankful. God, you are so good. My prayer is that in the middle of "it all" you can be thankful this week for all that you have. Especially knowing the things God has taken you through in the past or maybe has kept you from.

For your reflection, here are some verses on thankfulness:

"I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; before the 'gods' I will sing your praise. I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word." (Psalm 138:1-2)

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (I Thessalonians 5:18)

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:15-17)

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Colossians 4:2)

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)

I encourage you to think back to a time when God rescued you from something. Take a few moments today to praise him in thanksgiving for His faithfulness in this situation.