February 4

Remembering God’s Goodness

                  Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing.  And Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Exodus 15:20-21

            The world that we live in moves at an incredible rate.  Information and entertainment are available on demand.  Schedules fill up and the next challenge is just around the corner.  It is easy to forget the good things that have already happened as we are faced with the next crisis.

            The Israelites had just crossed the Red Sea and their oppressors had been destroyed.  The people now faced a long march into hostile territory with no weapons, no training and no supplies to speak of.  Instead of being consumed by worry, Miriam takes some time to celebrate how God had delivered His children.  She remembered how her baby brother was hidden to avoid being killed by the government.  How he had to be thrown into the river and was then miraculously rescued.  How he grew into a young man in the palace and then fled into the desert in exile.  She remembered a lifetime spent in slavery and oppression.  She remembered her long-lost brother returning with her older brother and promising freedom.  There were plagues and incredible suffering, the excitement of being released, the panic of being trapped as the Egyptian army approached and the wonder of walking between walls of water.  Through the ups and the downs, God had been present and God had provided and this was a crucial time to stop and remember and be grateful.

            Our challenges as parents do not stop.  Medical challenges, social challenges, food challenges, sleep challenges…now we are in High School and the future lurks with questions that I have no answers for.  But I can choose to pause.  I can choose to remember.  I can choose to be grateful for all the ways that God has been present and all the ways that God has been providing throughout this journey.  I am grateful for people who advised us to look into an autism diagnosis so that we were not running blind.  I am grateful for the surgery that took out his adenoids so that he, and we, could sleep more than an hour at a time.  I am grateful that he is no longer sensitive to gluten.  I am grateful that his diet is now more than just scrambled eggs as it was for a long time.  I am grateful for his sisters who do not allow him to live in his own little world.  I am grateful that he is an excellent reader and has an amazing memory and can cook for himself and loves to laugh and has the sweetest heart of anyone I have ever met.  None of these things had to turn out this way.  They are gifts from God as He leads us through this journey that none of us expected to be on back in the beginning.

            In gratitude we find hope for the future and joy for today…I invite you to join me.

A moment to reflect:

What are you grateful for?  Where has God provided and sustained you in your journey?