Thankful

I've been reading everyone's posts about being thankful and it got me thinking about things I am thankful for.  The one nice (but also sometimes annoying) feature of Facebook, is that there are always quotes being posted.  Things to think about.  There are two that come to mind now.

The first is that "Christmas is a time when we feel homesick, even if we are already at home."  The second is to "be thankful for the things you have, because they were afterall, things you had once wished for."  I think they are both pretty powerful if you give them some thought.  I also think they tie in together well.

I think it is human nature to always be slightly dissatisfied.  Always long for something more.  When we are children, we can't wait to grow up.  In high school, we can't wait for college.  In college, we can't wait to graduate and start a new adventure.  With marriage, eventually comes the desire for children.  The list goes on and on.  It is not necessarily a bad thing.  On some level, it keeps us going.  We need new things to work toward.  New things to experience, to conquer.  But we are never quite fulfilled, are we?  When I saw the quote about Christmas, it got me thinking.  First of all, how true I personally found it to be.  You can be surrounded by loving family, great food, great memories - and still feel a little stirring in your soul.  A little pit in your stomach,  I think we can feel homesick at home because we are not truly "home". 

How fitting that it be on Christmas of all holidays that we might feel this longing, this stirring the strongest.  It is afterall, Jesus's birthday.  We know this in our mind, but perhaps glaze over it by following the trends, making New Year's resolutions.  Ways we think we can be more fulfilled for the next year.  I believe that this feeling is our longing for our heavenly home.  For our Heavenly Father.  He is the one stirring in our soul.

Philippians 3:20
"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ"

2 Corinthians 5:2
"Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling"

Now I am not saying that we just scrap life on earth and wait for heaven.  I want to live a long, fruitful, happy life here.  But I think I realize that we will never be truly satisfied on earth.  In realizing this, I believe it frees me of some of the discontent.  God gives us little glimpses of heaven.  Reflections of Himself.  Every day.  Yes, every day.  These keep us going, running toward the goal.  They bring us the true joy.  It is for these things I find I am truly thankful. 

"Be thankful for the things you have, because they were afterall, things you had once wished for."  Of course not everything in our lives are things we hoped for.  Things we wished for.  But if you stop and think, a lot of them probably are.  And with them, came glimpses of our Heavenly Father.  It's easy to miss these.  Easy to become disconnected, too preoccupied with the next thing.  It's hard to live in the moment.  And yet we are instructed to.

Matthew 6:34
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

I like this quote:
"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift.
That's why we call it the present." ~Babatunde Olatunji

I think these moments can be as simple as driving your first car, windows down, warm breeze in your hair.  Feeling of freedom.  God gave you that freedom, you know.  You didn't really care back then if you were driving a clunker or not - you just enjoyed the moment for what it was.  The warmth of my children's hugs.  The joy in their laughter.  The honesty in their commentary.  Reflections of a warm, loving, honest God.  When they are all driving me nuts, it's hard to keep this thankful attitude.  But I find it encouraging that the old ladies who tell you to soak it all up, cherish every moment probably DO remember some of the hard times with their children.  But not all of them.  The memories that stick with them are the glimpses of God.  The reflections of Him that were revealed to them through those little ones, so fresh from His arms. 

I was grabbing a cup of coffee this afternoon to give me an energy boost to get through the day.  The kids had just finished lunch and were happily running laps around the downstairs.  Giggles, squeals, pit stops to kiss mom.  It honestly brought tears to my eyes thinking - THIS is one thing I am truly thankful for.  At this stage in my life, it is through them that I feel God revealed to me the most.  Sure they often drive me nuts.  They often exhaust me to tears.  But you know what, they bring me so much joy and meaning.  They are gifts.

This holiday season, I am thankful for my Heavenly Father and all of the ways He chooses to reveal Himself to me.  I want to work harder at recognizing these moments.  I am thankful for those pieces of Him that dwell within me.  I want to work harder at letting them shine for everyone else to see.