Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Praise and thanksgiving


Dear God how full of gratitude and humility I am at your gracious faithfulness. I stand in awe of the fact that I have completed my treatments, my health is good, my prognosis is excellent - and I feel so good. Thank you God. Thank you God. Thank you God.

I know how unworthy I am to be the recipient of your grace. I know I can never be the kind of person I want to be. I am imperfect and sinful and I long for your perfection. And yet you have given me a new chance to experience life in its fullness. I am your grateful servant.

And regardless of the outcome of my own medical nightmare, I would feel the same way. Because you have been so close to me these past seven months that I have felt your touch, your spirit, and your constant presence with me every single day, throughout the long and lonely nights, and during those times when I felt there was no one else who really cared. You were always there. I always knew it. And I will never forget it.

Thank you for this time of spiritual and physical transformation. Thank you for your love. And thank you for your abiding grace to me, your undeserving child.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Amen

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Independence


I'm so grateful every year to celebrate the independence of this country and remember how blessed I am to have been born here. It also reminds me every year that through you I have independence of another sort to be grateful for. I'm free from the bondage of this world and enjoy the glorious freedom of a life lived in your favor. Freedom - such a beautiful thing.

In the Psalms I read "I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts" and in II Corinthians "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" and I know that the concept of "freedom" is one that comes from you, for only through you do we find true freedom. In church this morning we sang "America the Beautiful" wich includes a salutation to you as "author of liberty" and I nodded in acclimation!

Thank you Lord, on this weekend when we in this country celebrate our freedom, I can also celebrate the freedom that you have given me.