I have waffled back and forth on whether or not I should bother writing this blog. But...what the heck...here is the obligatory holiday blog...
As I am sitting down to write this blog I am about to leave to go to the Miller side of my family for a Thanksgiving dinner. All morning I have been baking cookies just for the occasion and this whole week I have been pondering what all I have for which I should be thankful. Thanks to Lifetime movies and most tv shows at this time of year, the idea of sitting at the table and going around and sharing what I am thankful for has been on my mind. And I find it to be a terrifying thought. All that being said, I feel as if I have very little to share that hasn't already been said by someone older, smarter, and/or greater than me.
However, thank God for the crap in my life. There has been so much good in my life and it is very easy to count those blessings. When it comes to this time of year and Thanksgiving begins to creep up on me I tend to turn dark and melancholy. What do I have to be thankful for? Look at all this bad stuff that has been happening to me. And then, something wonderful happens, I start noticing how one bad thing has eventually led to something good or has had some positive side effect even though it may not have been ideal. We can look in Scripture at how bad situations have turned around or how they have turned out to be a part of a greater plan that God has been in the process of orchestrating. A bit of insight into my theology: I do not believe that God makes all things work together for our good. I believe that God makes all things work together for the good of all creation. Sometimes, that does not mean that we will experience sunshine and roses at most points in our lives. Sometimes that means that God is deeply involved in our lives, suffering along with us, encouraging us, talking to us, but that there are times when God simply will not alter a situation because it is of our own choosing BUT that God can and will work that event into a means of good (perhaps even a means of grace???) for creation. So, for this reason, thank God for all the crap in my life. Maybe someday it will open up the opportunity to empathize with someone or allow for the chance to share my testimony and the gospel with someone. Maybe this stuff that just isn't working out for me is because something else down the road is going to work out even better and be just where God wants me. Maybe I have missed out on a great opportunity that God has placed in front of me but I know that God will fill that opportunity in another way. I could go on and on but I think I will stop here because I have said all that I feel led to say in this brief holiday rant/rave/whatever.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow! (Even the ones we don't recognize as blessings)
Continually seeking the truth,
Dylan
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