Today we have a word of reflection from Annie Schmidt. Annie serves with our OC team, working directly with our internship program, and is a member of the year-round team.
In the last couple of days, God put it on my heart to be thankful… No matter what.
The last 2 weeks were very difficult for me.
We had to say goodbye to all our interns within 48 hours. That meant my life just changed dramatically from one day to the other. My whole “family” suddenly was gone. There were so many things I still wanted to teach “my girls”, so many things we wanted to do around camp.
But not only did my home change, but also my job. Not having interns and being a “mom” to them is hard, but also it meant we don’t have groups on site right now. That forces me to do a lot of office work, which is not my favourite.
But in all of that God called me to be thankful.
The bible says:
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
I find it interesting that Paul says I don’t have to be thankful for the situation and circumstances I am in. But to be thankful in them.
And that totally changed my attitude.
Even though life is hard right now, there are so many little things that I can be thankful for. I have more heat in my room now that the girls are gone. I have a whole freezer full of food I can eat. I had a wonderful day of skating on the lake (I made it all the way to Port Sydney) and I find a lot more time to read my bible and pray.
Yes, I wish the interns were still here and we could go and have fun together.
But if I live in the ‘what if’s’ I miss out so much on the blessings God wants to give me. He calls me to look to Him and see His goodness, grace and faithfulness. He wants me to be thankful and have a joyful heart. I know it is not easy to lift our eyes up to God and away from our circumstances. But there are so many things I can always be thankful for: Jesus saved me from my sin. He died for me on the cross. I’m not going to be judged according to my sins.
It is well with my soul. No matter what life brings, I know God saved my soul and nothing can separate me from the love of God.
That is enough reason to have a thankful heart!!
So this is your challenge for today.
Be thankful! For the little things and for the big things. Go into your day and look out for all the good things God is giving you, even in the midst of troubles, and then praise Him for that. Because He is worthy of our praises every day!!
Annie
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