10 Day Thanksgiving Journey: Day 6: Challenges

Today, we are heading in a different direction on our Thanksgiving Journey. We are going to thank God for something in which we don’t usually thank Him, difficulties, struggles, and challenges..

It was a Friday afternoon, about 4:30 when I received a call from my doctor. Hearing her voice on the other end of the phone confused me; why would my doctor, not her office personnel, contact me on a Friday afternoon? The shocking news came quickly from her voice, through the phone, and into my ears. Cancer. I calmly took a few notes, asked a couple questions, thanked her for the unexpected phone call, and hung up. The hours that immediately followed that phone call were some of the most difficult in my life. As I waited for Todd to come home, so I could share this news with him, I knew I needed someone to talk to immediately. I put a call out to my sisters. One called me back, so I began telling her this news, I suddenly couldn’t breathe. The room was closing in on me. Was I dying already? My mind knew I wasn’t, but my mind was anything but in control at that moment. My sister started talking to me calmly, taking me through a breathing process. Air slowly made it’s way into my lungs again. She remained on the phone with me until Todd got home. The evening unfolded with me telling Todd, then the two of us figuring out how and when to tell our children and our parents. The boys quickly made their way home, and the house was filled with those closest to us. That night was a dark one for me. I remember Todd and I crying in bed, and him slowly going to sleep. As I looked at him, I wondered how many years we would have together. I wondered if he would remarry. I wondered what things would look like in our home without me. And as I fearfully closed my eyes, I wondered if I would wake up the next morning.

Of course those weren’t necessarily rational thoughts. They may not even make sense to someone who hasn’t been in that position, but it was reality to me in that moment. And I was ready for God to show up in the midst of that dark hour.

And He did. During one of the darkest times in my life, God was able to show His light. He was able to comfort me in ways I didn’t know possible. He was able to fill me with peace at times when I thought peace was gone forever. He was able to show love through His Spirit, as well as through the many people He put in my path in the days and months ahead. God was able to not only provide these things for me, but He taught me during that time that in the midst of the unthinkable, He would teach me, love me, equip me in ways that would not have been possible if the unthinkable hadn’t happened.

Would I wish the unthinkables in life on anyone? Of course not, but I have learned to praise Him in the midst of them because I have come to learn that our God is big enough to to take those painful moments and create something beautiful out of them, in ways that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. And for that, I praise Him for the difficult. I praise Him for the struggles. I praise Him for the challenges.

What difficult, struggle, challenge will you thank God for today?

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Today’s challenge will be a little different. Most the other daily challenges have involved doing something for someone else. Today is about focusing on yourself. Set aside about 10-20 minutes; maybe grab your favorite hot drink, and take some paper/journal and pen to a cozy place where you can settle in for a few minutes. Now ask God to bring to your mind a struggle that you have encountered in your life. This could be a health struggle. Financial struggle. Child or parent struggle. The possibilities are endless, as you know. As God brings that struggle to your mind, write it down. Be specific as you write down what the struggle was, when it happened, who was involved, the emotions that went along with this struggle. Spend time reflecting on that moment in time. Now ask God to show you how He showed Himself during that time. Think about what happened in your relationship with Him. What did you learn through that painful time that you would not have learned otherwise. What growth did you have in your life because of thais situation? How did God come through for you during this time? Write those reflections down, as well. My hope is that you will see that God showed up in your difficult situation. That your relationship with Him grew in some way. That His love for you was evident during your pain. End your time in prayer.

Heavenly Father, Thanking you for the pain in my life is not something I have come very accustomed to doing. In fact, frustration and anger tend to fill my heart and mind much more quickly than thanksgiving when something difficult comes into my life. But today Lord, I want to have a different perspective. I want to praise you for the difficult. I want to praise you for it because I know I will be able to experience something extra sweet in our relationship, as you show me your love, fill me with your peace, and equip me for some special assignment because of this difficulty. Thank you for the past, present, and future challenges in my life, Lord. And open my eyes to see you working in the midst of them. Amen