Sharon Paavola is one of those trophies of God's grace; I've seen the Lord work powerfully in her life and in the lives of those she loves. In this special Thanksgiving UPGRACE—which is also a spiritual 
UPLIFT—she encourages us to be joyful on "two counts."
"My husband accepted Christ later in life," Sharon says.
I (Dawn) think it's always special when people receive the Lord, but there can be challenges when that choice comes later rather than sooner. But Sharon experienced an unexpected blessing in a lesson from the Lord after her husband came to Christ.
Sharon continues . . .
My husband accepted Christ later in life seven years after we married.
He had not grown up in a Christian home and attended church seldom as a child. His first prayers were precious and at mealtimes he thanked God for simple things like our home, our dogs and for always having abundant food to eat.
Most of his prayers ended and still do with thankfulness for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sins and the gift of eternal life.
I grew up in a pastor’s home where mealtime thanks could become routine, but not rote.
Eric’s petitions were fresh. They were not tainted by years of hearing the same words.
I realized I had accepted a pattern of praying.
Listening to Eric brought me up short. I realized how rarely before eating I truly thanked God with my heart.
Now our pre-meal petitions contain random praise for all kinds of daily mercy and blessings. As a result of this practice, I have incorporated thankfulness into my communication to God in new ways. Throughout my day, I find small and large situations and events to be grateful to God.
I have also learned that:
- Thanking Him before He has answered my prayers for how He will work brings hope and expectation, releasing the worry or anxiousness of the need.
- Praising Him for glorifying His name leads to more faith. What joy comes then when He does answer even if it is not what I had anticipated.
During the years I taught a Bible Study at my church, I told my leaders when a "mountain" came against us, "God knew this was going to happen. He is not surprised. He has already gone ahead of us to work out the details, smooth the path, and solve this situation. We only need to thank Him.”
I saw their shoulders drop and heard big sighs.
God remains faithful! We can count on him as Psalm 40:5 says:
“O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.”
I have often sung the hymn, "Count Your Blessings" at Thanksgiving time. It is quite appropriate in our spiritual lives daily and at mealtimes to count our blessings.
Thank the Lord even for the heartaches, the losses and the unexpected—anticipating how He will work.
We can thank God for many ways He has blessed us.
In my life today:
- I thank God for my contacts and my glasses that allow me to see as well as I do. I started wearing glasses for nearsightedness at age ten. Now I am considered legally blind and have glaucoma and cataracts. I also need glasses for reading. I want God to know how grateful I feel to see as well as I do. I sometimes whine about my eyesight, but as I put my contacts away at bedtime, I realize what an amazing invention they are for me and am grateful again.
- I thank Him for a comfortable bed to sleep in every night, for a mind that thinks as well as it does, and for the gift of my sweet puppy dogs.
- I thank the Lord for my darling 10-month-old grandson. He is a miracle! Years of tears went before him, and through in vitro fertilization he was born to my daughter and her husband. That is a big thank you!
- We thank God every night at dinner for our salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ's sacrifice.
In summary:
- Thank God for all things—and always for His salvation plan.
- Daily run a constant praise to Him for what He has done throughout those twenty-four hours.
- Give Him gratefulness for how He will answer our prayers, no matter how difficult or impossible.
- Appreciate the unexpected and how God paves the way before we even knew it would happen.
Are you joyful on two counts? Are you counting on God today? How will you count your blessings? (Can you name them one by one?)
Sharon Paavola writes a blog on book reviews and her thoughts for assisting women to find peace and healing from depression, pain and loss. She loves being a new grandmother, has been married for twenty-three years, and has three grown children. When not reading books, she sews, walks, and gardens. She helps lead a post abortion recovery Bible Study and assists at her Precepts study at her church. Learn more about Sharon on her blog.