Giving Thanks in November

I really did mean to enter a thankful post each day in November. Yesterday, however, got away from me.

Yesterday was catch up day. No, I didn't catch up on housework or laundry or even reading. It was catch up day because the events of the past couple days finally caught up with me. Like a little wind-up toy, I teetered over and stopped for a while. The stress, the fears, the joys, Friday's succession of meetings with doctors and electro-physiologists, and testing and the over three hour battle through Chicago rush hour traffic at the end of a very long day finally took its toll.

Saturday I scurried around and prepared a rather unorganized Thanksgiving dinner for my family with all the trimmings. I thought it would be a mess since my Thursday evening shopping time and my all day Friday cleaning and baking and cooking time was lost. But everything turned out fine. Our growing family sat down together: Tom and me, John and Beth and Elliott, Jake and Sam. Seven of us around the table. The cheesecake didn't get baked, but we didn't need it. We revealed in the completeness of our circle and reflected on how different that day would have been if Jake did not have a defibrillator. It was another day I will never forget.

Yesterday I slowed down and rested. I stayed quiet all day. I thought a great deal about how many, many times and how many, many ways God has intervened and spared Jake's life. The enormity of what almost happened settled in around me, but amidst the horror of those thoughts, God was there, comforting me, encouraging me, reminding me of all that He has done.

I also came to grips with the truth that had Jake died Thursday night, I would still be thanking God for sparing his life so many, many times. O, the comfort and peace that comes from knowing that God is sovereign and He is GOOD!

So yesterday I missed my Sunday thanksgiving post, but I did not miss thanking God for His unfailing mercies and unfathomable grace.

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;
he chastens and hastens his will to make known;
the wicked oppressing now cease from distressing:
sing praise to his Name, he forgets not his own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
ordaining, maintaining his kingdom divine;
so from the beginning the fight we were winning:
thou, Lord, wast at our side: all glory be thine!

We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant,
and pray that thou still our defender wilt be.
Let thy congregation escape tribulation:
thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!