It reminded me of my first nervous day of seventh grade, a new school, seas of strangers congregated in pods, then swarmed with haste less the bell catch them late. Shy and unsure, I kept to myself, scurried to an empty desk and plopped down. I donned my most stylish outfit and a new curly hairstyle, but the feeling of being small and insignificant overwhelmed as the chatter around me swelled to a deafening crescendo but did not include me.
When I first at gazed the photo taken by NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft, I felt the same feelings wash. The huge rings of beautiful Saturn made earth seem diminutive and inconsequential.
A speck of dust in eternity.
A grain of sand on endless beaches,
A miniature orb in a universe so vast my mind cannot comprehend.
Like the diminutive girl alone in a sea of strangeness.
How can I be important to God in such a vast universe and beyond, with billions of people under his care on this planet alone? And what if there are others? My brain freezes overloaded at the thought.
But the more I ruminate, the more I realize the power and wonder of my God. If he promises me he knows every hair on my head, isn’t that proof enough?
Who am I to doubt that he can answer my prayers in ways I cannot fathom?
Who am I to think I know best as I barrel forward blindly without consulting my loving guide every step of the way?
I am important to him.
He cherishes me as a golden child.
He loves me even when I am at my most unloveable.
So here are five reasons I live thankful every day:
- He hears my cry and draws near.
- He lifts me out of my pit with gentle hand.
- He sets me on a brand-spanking-new firm foundation.
- He gives me a new song to replace my broken record of sin and sorrow.
- He never tires of assuring me the doubter— again and again that I can always trust in him.
When I focus on these things I experience a new kind of freedom
A freedom to chunk that chip on my shoulder.
A freedom to banish the stinkin’ thinkin’ of entitlement. I “deserve”this because I have worked hard, or that because I have been “good”.
A freedom to dislodge that little green man in my head and not be disgruntled because others have more or seem more successful in life and relationships.
A freedom to live peaceful each day with grace toward others.
A freedom to live humbled and thankful and grateful.
I’m not perfect,
But by God’s grace,
I will triumph.
Psalm 40:1-3 I waited patiently for the LORD;
He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.