Last night before retiring, I checked the news on my computer. Not one to normally talk to my computer, I uttered "Praise God!" more than a couple of times when I read that the remaining 12 miners from the West Virginia coal mine were found alive. I went to bed feeling so happy for their families. The happiness was dimmed somewhat by the one man's body who had been found a little earlier, but it seemed like a true miracle indeed that the other 12 had survived and been found before it was too late.
This morning, as I woke up, the words of the Doxology came to me and I decided to post them after completing my morning chores. I checked the news on my computer again, to see what the most recent articles had to say, and I read in disbelief, a quite different headline. I read it a second time, hoping, praying, that I had read incorrectly. Unfortunately, I had not.
I lived in West Virginia (Charleston area) while I was in junior high and high school. My high school band played a concert in Buchannon (close to the area where the mine is) when I was 15. So it was with somewhat heightened interest that I followed the news stories of the trapped coal miners these past few days. I prayed, along with the rest of the country, for a happy ending.
Now my prayers are for recovery for the sole survivor, and comfort for the families and friends of the 12 who perished. If it were MY husband who did not make it out alive, I daresay, I could not utter these words. But Paul tells us, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.(I Thess 5:16-18)" Some years ago, I added, in pencil, in my Bible: "IN, not FOR." We can't give thanks FOR all circumstances, but we must give thanks IN all circumstances. Obviously easier said than done. But this means, I suppose, that I must still sing praises to God, even when my heart is so heavy this morning.
"Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow"
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
2 comments:
"Giving thanks IN and not FOR all things" is such a freeing distinction. My mother, who has much suffering to contend with says, "I will give thanks today, because I may never have it this bad again."
I'll be praying for your mom. And remembering to tell myself, "IN, not FOR!"
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