Sometimes Medicine is Hard to Swallow

...He knew that which didn't look like anything good might yield good, all in the hand of a good God.

To bring the sacrifice of thanksgiving means to sacrifice your understanding of what is beneficial and thank God for everything because He is benevolent.

A sacrifice of thanks lays down our perspective and raises hands in praise--always.

A sacrifice is by definition not an easy thing.

There is this:

We give thanks to God not because of how we feel--but because of Who He is.

-Ann Voskamp

About three years ago, I prayed a prayer full of hope.

And right now, I can't say that my prayer has been answered.

However, I know one thing:  God works in ways so different from anything the human brain can conjure up...so different from anything we imagine in our wildest, most insane dreams.

So though my specific prayer hasn't been fulfilled, who am I to say that that's a bad thing?  Who am I to judge what is good and what is bad?  I, from my mere, earthly perspective, have no knowledge of what is good or bad in the grand scheme of things.

In times when things don't turn out the way we hoped, our only job is to be thankful--to bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving--not because of our circumstances, but because we have a GOOD God.

Gratitude is a sacrifice at times.  I don't want to be thankful when things don't go my way.  I want to be a brat about it and throw a temper tantrum until I get what I want.

But the funny thing is, in the past, I've always ended up being so incredibly glad that my plans fell through. 

I'm learning (and it's one of the hardest lessons) that God's plan is always better.  

And even when the current situation sucks, all.is.grace.

All is grace.  What a standard to measure life by.

Sometimes the medicine you need the most is the medicine that's hardest to swallow.

A Place of Gratitude

I often mention how I've found so many role models out there in the blogosphere, but rarely pay tribute to the amazing women that actually exist in my real life.  Tonight, I just want to honor one of them.

But FIRST.  A shout out to the best sandwich I've had in a really long time.

It's called the Santa Fe Burger--it is a veggie burger made of black beans, corn and herbs.  And honestly, it was good enough to make me consider becoming a vegetarian.  But no worries:  judging by my pot roast dinner, I obviously decided against it.  Any who, I think I'll try to make these sometime...and maybe post about them!  Maybe.

Okay BACK to the main point now.  I went to lunch at WildFlour Cafe (which is where I had this little beyond amazing sandwich) with my mother and grandmother today.  I just need to say that I have been blessed with two absolutely fabulous women to call my family members.  As I have matured over the past couple of years, I've gained a huge appreciation for/admiration of Grandmommy.  If I grow up to have half of her love, grace and wisdom, I will be a such a lucky girl.  She is a true old-fashioned lady-so polite and elegant- and her taste?  Well, it's impeccable.  But she has also adapted to the times--she's quite the Facebook extraordinaire and has even learned to text at 85 years old!  She's legitimately amazing.

God has given me a tremendous gift by placing her in my life.  She is everything I hope to be.  She loves the Lord with all her heart and soul, but she's not one to shove it down your throat and force her opinions on you.  She also loves her husband.  I love the way she calls him by his last name.  And I love the way he loves her and treats his bride (of 63 years!) like a queen.  In addition, she has been an amazing mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.  She loves and supports her family members no matter what poor decisions we have made; she extends grace even in the hardest of situations.

She is truly a superstar and I am in awe that God deemed me worthy of inheriting her DNA.

Cheers to fabulous food and even more fabulous women.

I'm just thankful, thankful, thankful.