Recently, the Whimsies had a post on their website, where they listed the things they are thankful for. I thought about doing something like that here, but decided against it…with two exceptions. Reviewing the list in my mind, I realized it ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. So instead of going into great detail about all the many, many things I am grateful for, I will now present the items on the very top and the very bottom of my list.
First, the bottom: Garbage Pick Up. I started thinking about this when I realized this Thursday is a holiday, and since our pickup days are Monday and Thursday, once again we’re going to miss a pickup. Of course, on the Monday & Thursday schedule, almost all the major holidays fall on a Monday, so there are many times a year when we miss a Monday pickup. And now, can you believe it? The ONE HOLIDAY that always falls on a specific DAY of the week also happens to be another one of our pickup days. How unfair is that?
But rolling all this around in my mind, I began to feel foolish. Am I really going to gripe about a missed garbage pickup? The good news, at least, is that it’s so cold outside right now, that leaving trash bags in the can in the garage (where it is typically ten degrees warmer than outside) is a better place for it to be than here in the house. So, let’s review: no trash in the house, cold trash is the garage, and the next pickup is only a few days away.
So I’m not going to fret about it. Thank goodness we live in a country where the trash is regularly picked up and we are not all overcome with disease and pestilence!
That was the “Ridiculous” part of this post. Now for the Sublime.
Salvation.
Of all the many, many things there are to be thankful for, what could possibly be better than eternal salvation, eternal life, getting to spend the rest of forever with Jesus and God? Nothing—and I mean, absolutely NOTHING—can ever come close to being as important and wonderful.
I’ve been a Christian for many years, in fact I just passed my 39th Spiritual Birthday last week. I admit that I haven’t always been the best Christian—and by that I don’t mean that I haven’t been a “good person” (though surely I have not always been a good person…) but I mean that I’ve spent a great deal of these last 39 years not giving God the full attention He deserves. He deserves to be contemplated, and praised, consulted, and sought out during every moment of every day. There was a time in my life when I did that, but then enthusiasm waned, and other concerns set in, and Jesus was kind of put on the back burner for a while.
But here’s the great part of all this: I know that it doesn’t matter in the long run, as far as my salvation goes. I know that God still loves me, has always loved me, and has always been waiting for me to come back and hang out with Him. It’s amazing to me that He would want that, but I know He does, and I know He’s always there, whenever I’m ready to say “Hey God, it’s me. Remember?”
Of course He remembers. Though the dry years, though I may have forgotten God, He has never forgotten me. And I have never lost my salvation. You can’t lose your salvation. I have only lost the opportunity to enjoy so many of God’s blessings, by depriving myself of His presence and His friendship.
I think these kinds of thoughts started coming back to me this past August, when Russ’ mom died and went to Heaven. It made the whole idea of Heaven that much more real to me, wondering where she is, what it’s like, who she sees there, what kinds of activities she’s enjoying. What must it be like? I know that I don’t know. I only know it’s better than anything we can imagine.
I feel my focus is getting sharper, that I’m starting to see the bigger picture more clearly. In this life, there are so many miniscule and annoying considerations (like taking out the trash), but in the long run, that’s not what life is all about. It’s about connecting with what’s real. I’m not saying I’m any kind of expert on that, but during this season of Thanksgiving, I’m just saying that I’m thankful that we can have a friend in Jesus, to take us to God the Father, and show us what’s real and what’s important.
It’s all a lot more than “We’re born, we do some stuff, and then we die.” Lots, lots more. And sometimes it helps to take your eyes off the garbage (or anything else) that’s always right in front of you, to look out into the distance and see the big picture, the beauty of all that is on the horizon.
Well, that’s me being reflective on Thanksgiving.
