Choosing Gratitude Over Scarcity
It seems only natural to focus on the topic of gratitude at this time of year. The beauty of changing leaves surrounds us, and the air has a fresh briskness that invigorates and inspires. From the recesses of our minds emerge memories of plentiful family celebrations and the pageantry of children's plays.
Many of us share these memories. They are part of our national identity as Americans. However, there are those among us who have not shared in these festive experiences. And, like it or not, during the complex days in which we currently live, many of our traditions are positioned to continue changing.
That sounds a bit depressing, doesn't it? It certainly would be if the idea of thanksgiving were tethered only to the trimmings. But thanksgiving is so much more than a cultural occasion. It is a choice to embrace an attitude of gratefulness rather than entering into a spiral of despair. It is a time for seeing afresh how God's loving kindness has cared for us.
Throughout our seasons in ministry, my family and I have often hypothesized whether God supplemented our lack of resources through an extra allowance of creativity. We discovered that amazing beauty was available with a little bit of imagination and willing hands. Sometimes those blessings came through curb-side-free-garbage-give-aways or friends cleaning out their collections of art-supplies-for-that-next-anticipated-project. As we leaned into Him, the Lord repeatedly supplied for our needs… and he's done it in ways far more abundantly than all we could have asked or imagined (Ephesians 3:20).
Don't get me wrong. Things have not always been rosy. As an artist, I have often uttered my own "if only" in regards to my creative process. If only I had the space. If only I had the funds. If only I had the resources. If only.
Have you been there? Maybe right now you find yourself whittled down by constant reminders of all you are lacking in your studio (perhaps you don't even have a studio), and you are ready to give up. Let me encourage you that you are only seeing one side of the coin; only one solution for the call to create. Allow me to compare this familiar season to the act of painting. I’ve found that sometimes an entire canvas is lost to view because of my fixation on one small detail. Can you relate? Inevitably my obsession leads to ruin as I dab and smudge the details into oblivion. That is, unless I am concentrating on the detail in light of the canvas as a whole, making sense of my brushstrokes within a larger context.
Likewise, we often lose sight of God’s greater plan. We think we need one more thing to realize our potential or to create our masterwork. But that is just not true. These thoughts cause instant dissatisfaction and internal unrest. In reality, the trappings become a snare that keeps us from seeing the Lord’s hand on our behalf. They disrupt the sense of shalom (peace) needed to be intuned creatively. In his sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life. Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 8:25-26; ESV).
This admonition does not negate the need to be good stewards. The Bible has plenty to say about that in other sections. Rather the heart of the message deals with whom we place our trust. God has not moved away from us. He remains faithful in all things and wants the best for us. The difference is he knows what we need better than we do ourselves.
Out of the abundance of his love, God blesses us with so many gifts beyond the monetary value of a price-tag. The fact that each new day is a gift hasn't changed. If we are sensitive to God's momentary moving, we discover that each new second, minute, and hour is simply bursting with divinely orchestrated possibilities. While resources assist us in accomplishing our goals, at the end of the day, we need to ask ourselves, "Whose goals am I seeking to fulfill and in whose resources am I relying?"
During this season of beauty and change, may you discover afresh the joy of choosing gratitude for God’s daily provision. May you realize the many ways he has already shown himself faithful, and may you trust him more in the next steps of your journey.
