Thankful

Yes, Papa I am thankful..
For You, Dearest LORD!
Your love is so evident, so tender, so consistent..

Ray and I celebrated thirty-two years of marriage today.  They have been thirty-two packed-full years!
Those of you that have been with us through all the years are nodding in agreement.
When we look back we find evidence in abundance of His Hand upon us, His intervention, His guidance, His grace.
In Psalm eighteen the psalmist exclaims that the LORD has brought him into a broad place.  We can say the same.

Yes, this place we find ourselves in, at the moment, may not appear broad, yet, if we look at it with a wide angle lens we cannot deny it.  The Living God has done much in our lives.  He has answered many prayers and brought abundant healing to us.
This fact brings a whole lot of encouragement to our hearts.  A phrase from a song I heard many years ago comes to mind.  "He hasn't brought me this far to leave me now!"

Papa knows that being able to look back and remember what He has done is good for our hearts and souls.  In the Old Testament He had His people erect little pillars in places where He met them.  Every crisis, every turning point, He met their need.
In a study that I was doing by Henry Blackaby, there was an exercise that called for us to look back and identify the places that we would have been erecting our pillars.  There were many.  In reflection I could see a pattern and how Papa has worked everything together to shape the path I was to take.
Imagine that we are so precious, so important to the Creator God that He is concerned about all the details of our lives!  He not only meets us in the big things, but is concerned for every detail so we become all He has intended.  After all, He is our Papa and what papa doesn't want the best for his children?
When Jesus was teaching His disciples to pray He told them to address God as Papa or Daddy.  According to David Jeremiah, in the Bible account of this we find the word "Father", but if we examine the original text we find that Papa or Daddy is more accurate.
It is hard to wrap our minds around.  However, if we seek Him as our Papa.  If we cry to Him with such a mindset, we find that is Who answers our cry-Papa!

My Papa gave my honey the energy to go out to dinner with me this evening!  He even provided a twenty percent coupon to our favorite restaurant!!
My Papa moved among the disability-insurance people, who then gave an extension of benefits until December sixteenth.  (They are hoping he can go back to work then!  Wouldn't that be lovely?!)
My Papa has shown me that I need to be more proactive now to ensure no last minute snafus in the future.

So just as He has answered my cries over the years and transformed Ray and I and our marriage; just as He has worked in and then through one son after another; just as He has equipped and empowered and given wonderful opportunities to touch lives, He will continue to do so and even more so!

Yes, Great is His Faithfulness!!