Be Thankful For It All
From, “Good Morning God” a 21-day devotional dedicated to help jump-start your day
Read; 1 Thessalonians 5:18
At the very beginning of last year, I had a blood clot in my right lobe. That was so scary. As a 10+ year healthcare worker, blood clots have always been one of the things that I feared. They are sneaky. The big ones do major damage, and the little ones break off and get into places they don't belong, and then do major damage. Fast forward to mid-year. I get COVID. The first two days I was really sick. On the third day, I felt pretty good. The days that followed were filled with fever, achy body, and being tired all the time. But honestly, nothing too major. It turned a little scary about 12 days in. My O2 saturation dropped to 89%. I will not lie and say that it didn’t frighten me a bit, because it did. It also, however, put determination in me to push forward. Instead of going to the hospital, I went to my physician and received medication. I began to walk around the house as best as I could. It was hard and I didn't want to do it, but it was necessary to my healing. I walked, climbed the stairs, and walked some more. Each day I got stronger. It got to the point where I wasn’t coughing up a lung anymore when I reached the top of the stairs. I was getting back to my old self. Why am I sharing this? Honestly, that wasn't the plan. God, however, didn't allow me to endure all that I have, only for me not to tell of his goodness. Someone needs to know.
The scripture today is important to me. It reminds us that no matter what we go through, as long as we have breath in our bodies, we must give thanks, because whatever we are going through has already been ordained. My illnesses, especially COVID, opened my eyes to some of the trivial stuff that I allowed to infiltrate my mind and heart. All of it seems extremely petty in the grand scheme of things now, but I couldn't see that at the time. It took an illness to open my eyes, and I am thankful for it. God will allow lessons to be learned any way they can be. Am I saying God gave me this? No. But he allowed it. This did not take him by surprise. There was something that I needed to know. Even though my human self allows things to still creep up in me, I am able to reflect and then check myself. I am forever thankful to God for allowing me to go through something that will cause me to be a better version of myself. What I went through doesn't even touch the surface of what others went through so I won't pretend, but I will say that my story is mine. I can only state what I learned from my experience.
Let our prayer today be one of thanksgiving. Thanking God for all we have endured, because if you are reading this, it didn't kill you, and that is surely something to be thankful for.
Pray with me:
Lord, I thank you for this day. I ask that you forgive me for my sins, those that I know of and those that I do not. God, you are awesome. There is absolutely none like you. I am so thankful for everything that you have done—waking me up this morning, letting me have use of all my limbs, and being in my right state of mind. Lord, you have always provided for me and my family and I know that you always will. Thank you for keeping me, even when I didn't know that I needed to be kept. You are an awesome God indeed. I give you all the praise, all the honor, and all of the glory in your mighty son Jesus’ name. AMEN.
