Attitude

1Thessolonians 5:17 in the Message says; 

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

How in the world do I do that?  I mean, take any given day and I can list at least a dozen reasons why I would struggle to be cheerful! Look at the newspaper or listen to the news and there are about a dozen reasons not to be cheerful.  Look at the checkbook or the price of gas or who my kid is hanging out with, more reasons NOT to be cheerful. So what does he mean when he says, “be cheerful no matter what”?

Paul goes on to say, pray all the time.

 What? Pray all the time?  Now, how am I supposed to do that?? I pray before going to bed, before each meal, and when I need a parking spot, but ALL the time? Is that even possible?

Then Paul says; thank God no matter what happens.

Ok now he is just going too far. No matter what happens, I am supposed to thank God?

Even when;

The car breaks down?

The check book bounces?

My son comes home with a tattoo?

Why? Because Paul says; this is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

This is too hard, Lord. I can’t do this.

That is exactly how I felt when I went to a retreat years ago.  It was while I was living in Salt Lake City, Utah and I was so very grateful someone had paid my way to attend this weekend retreat.  With a 2 year old  I desperately longed for a “girls only” weekend.   As I pulled up to the beautiful lodge, I was overwhelmed with appreciation for the privilege of being with so many other godly women.  The theme of the retreat was; Pray without ceasing, 1Thessolonians 5:17. 

I don’t remember the name of the speaker but  25 years later I can remember what she said.  She was maybe all of 5 feet tall and in her late 70’s.  She had a very soft voice but what she said spoke volumes into my life.

She began with posing the same questions I had struggled with over this idea of praying without ceasing.

She began,

The secret of praying without ceasing, to be thankful no matter what, is to live in an attitude of prayer and thanksgiving. When you are folding your clothes, thank God that you have clothes to wear then thank God that you have a child who wears those clothes and then you can go right into praying for that child. Thank you Jesus that you gave me this son. May he learn to walk with you and stay close to you all his days.  May he marry a godly woman and love her as You love the church, Lord.  Keep her pure and close to your heart. “

Wow I thought all that while folding his shirt!

She went on;

When you are making your beds thank God for the comfort of sleep. Pray that your sleep would be sweet and that God would continue to pour out His blessings on your family. As you fluff up the pillow, pray that God would lift up your head and keep you in His care. 

 I was beginning to get excited.  I could do that, I thought.  Even though I was a young mom, home with my toddler, I really could pray all day.

I will never forget how she ended that first talk.  She said;

I got so excited when I was doing the dishes one night, thanking God for the wonderful meal that these dirty dishes represented, praying for my husband as he worked to provide for us, I turned the plate over and saw it was made in China and I went on to pray for my persecuted brothers and sisters in the church in China!

Her enthusiasm was contagious, Praying without ceasing was possible! It is all about attitude.

Her words radically changed the way I lived.  I purposed to live in an attitude of prayer and thanksgiving.  Now when I look at that scripture,

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you, who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

I have come to understand that Paul is telling us that because we belong to Christ Jesus, live in an attitude of prayer and thanksgiving. If you do, then you can be cheerful no matter what. You will understand that it is God who is in control. It is God who is bigger than your problem.  It is the God of the Universe who deeply loves your child more than you do. Your eyes will be on Jesus not the problem.  You can be cheerful because He is your source of joy!
When our attitude is fixed on Jesus we can have a joy that is unexplainable, a peace that is unending and a calm in the midst of chaos that is beyond words.

You can be thankful no matter what because HE is worthy of our thanks.

And as Paul says, that’s the way we should live, we who belong to Jesus!

Roadtrip!

I traveled to Florida over spring break this year with four 20(ish) year olds.  Two my own,  two friends and our little dog.  The plan was to drive from Michigan to Ohio where we would pick up my daughters friend, rest for the night and then make the 17 ½ hour drive to Florida. I was thinking that breaking up the drive like that would work out great.  I borrowed a car top carrier from a friend to store the luggage making more room for the kids and the dog. 

Our first “hiccup” came before we even left Michigan.  The car top carrier would not fit on the top of the car.  Since I don’t have any luggage racks there was nothing to attach the carrier to. The boys worked for about an hour in the cold and rain trying to figure it out. But in the end they made the decision that we really didn’t need the car top carrier.  It was only 17 ½ hours and yes they would be cramped but they were sure that one more person and her luggage would not make it too awful.

We arrived in Ohio slightly past midnight and all headed to bed. The plan was to get up before the sun rose, load up the car with the additional luggage and begin our Florida adventure!

We all got up and I sent the boys out to pack up the car.  They quickly returned with a dismal report.  There was no room for more luggage and an additional rider.  After a quick look I had to agree, there was seriously no room. We had to do something.   I had my son check on his smart phone for a U-Haul close by.  I remembered that U-Haul rented car top carriers.  We found that there was one just 1 mile away and they opened at 7am and it was 6:55am!  Eureka! God was with us!! We got there just as they opened only to find that they in fact do not rent car top carriers. The did sell 2 different kinds.  Both, however needed a luggage rack in order to attach to a vehicle.  Discouraged, we walked out to the car and noticed a Wal-Mart right across the street open 24 hours!!  My passengers were ecstatic with the hope of a reprieve from the cramped confines of the car. 

Through the pouring rain we trekked across the street, sure that the friendly people of Wal-Mart would not let us down. We were not disappointed! They had a carrier but we needed to purchase a set of poles that would work as luggage racks.  Our problem was solved! 

We headed across the street to a covered gas station for the boys to first attach the poles and then the car top carrier. After about an hour of the boys trying to figure out how to put the poles together, my daughters’ friend suggested we take the poles and the new car top carrier to a local auto mechanic that had worked on her familys cars.

We arrived at the shop at 8:30 Saturday morning.  Jim, the owner was there to help.  After trying numerous ideas, he was able to attach our newly purchased car top carrier minus those pesky poles. He worked for 3 hours on a Saturday morning and yet refused to take any money for his time. We were so very grateful! 

11:30 we pulled out of the garage, almost 6 hours past our original planned departure time.  And now we were hungry and tired!  We ate and finally at 1:30 in the afternoon we were on our way.  17 ½ hours to go, but we were on our way none the less.  We were already tired and cranky!

 I have to tell you it was the longest 18 hours of my life!!   I kept texting my friend who encouraged me to keep my eyes on the prize, warmth and blue waters. All we saw was rain..all the way! What a relief to see the sun and blue waters at our condo early Sunday morning!

I learned two very important lessons on this trip.

The first is from Philippians 4:4; Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice!

Paul repeats the command to rejoice.  I think it’s because it isn’t always easy.  I know it was very difficult over those 18 hours to rejoice.  Rejoicing in the Lord is a choice.  It isn’t in our nature to rejoice.  Our nature is to grumble and complain.  But God calls us to Rejoice in Him always!

The second very important lesson I learned?     Next time fly!