Thanks . . . Thank you . . . You saved my life!

“I suppose the one he forgave more.”

Luke 7:43 (CSB)

I had an opportunity yesterday to share a bit of my testimony with a new friend. As I was reading this morning and then writing some thoughts, I was reminded of this conversation. I was also reminded of what is a familiar topic for me – thankfulness to God for how He has changed my life the last few years.

Gratitude and being mindful of things for which we are grateful is almost like a catch-phrase these days. Don’t get me wrong, I highly value the concept and feel that it helps overcome self-focus and depressed feelings and make a greater opportunity for joy in our lives. However, when something becomes trendy, it tends to lose a little bit of its punch.

My life frequently makes me think of the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet in Luke 7. While the scenario is not exactly the same, the concept is for me. I was in such a desert wasteland spiritually and Abba-God gently guided me back to spiritual life, above and beyond what I ever could have expected, and gave me all that I dreamed. For me, it was a miraculous transformation and I did nothing but follow the gentle nudging that He provided. That has made me incredibly grateful. He saw me and responded to my cries for Him. Because of that, I have a very thankful heart.

• Sometimes the nature of gratitude is light and simple – I wave to the person behind me for letting me into the lane without a hassle. I am grateful, but it does not cost me anything – “Thanks!”
• Other times, thankfulness is a little more involved and can be an opportunity. Being a person who often feels invisible, it is very important to me that others know they are seen. When I pay for my prescription at the pharmacy, my food at the drive-through or my veggies at the grocery, I look the check-person in the eye and address them by name and thank them – “Thank you” 🙂
• When a friend makes the time and takes the initiative to reach out to me to share some of their time, I feel seen and am grateful – “Thank you” ((hug))
• When my beloved hubby sees the anguish of my brain in the black hole and invites me to be held in his arms and feel the touch of his skin, my heart and mind are changed – “Thank you” (tears)
• When I lay in my bed at 5 a.m. on a Saturday and think of the story I was able to share with my friend of how God took a middle-aged woman lost in a sea of pain and doubt who thought she no longer had purpose and could not read His Word and turned her into a graduate student in love with the Bible on a path with a plan, my heart is physically flooded with gratitude and I am overwhelmed with the mighty loving God that I choose to give my life to every day. “YOU saved my life and I will spend the remainder of it telling those You bring into my path the message that You have given me. THANK YOU” . . . words meant with all of my heart and yet still so terribly inadequate.

Whatever level of thankfulness it may be, let what God has done for your life impact the lives of others today. (smile) ((hug))