gratitude..

"send some rain, would You send some rain?
'cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
and the sun is gigh and we are sinking in the shade
would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid
but maybe not, not today
maybe You'll provide in other ways
and if that's the case...

we'll give thanks to You with gratitude
for lessons learned in how to thirst for You
how to bless the very sun that warms our face
if You never send us rain

daily bread, give us daily bread
bless our bodies, keep our children fed
fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
wrap us up
and warm us through
tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
let us slumber safe from danger's view this time
or maybe not, not today
maybe You'll provide in other ways
and if that's the case...

we'll give thanks to You
with gratitude
a lesson learned to hunger after You
that a starry sky offers a better view if no roof is overhead
and if we never taste that bread

oh, the differences that often are between
everything we want and what we really need

so grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
move our hearts to hear a single beat
between alibis and enemies tonight
or maybe not, not today
peace might be another world away
and if that's the case...

we'll give thanks to You
with gratitude
for lessons learned in how to trust in You
that we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
in abundance or in need
and if You never grant us peace

but Jesus, would You please..."

~ "gratitude"... nichole nordeman

Wow.. what can I say?? That is quite a song. Quite a prayer. It really needs to be my own prayer, the cry of my heart. But how often is it not? I hate to think how often... There is always, always, always something to be thankful for. There is something to smile about, something to be joyful about. Paul talks in Philippians 4 about having learned to be content in whatever situation he happened to be in... and he was in some pretty hard and nasty situations at different points in his life. He learned to be truly content when he was hungry or well-fed, when he had a home or not, when he had good clothes and when he didn't. He learned to trust in God for everything that he needed and came to believe that He would provide everything he ever needed. Philippians 4:19.

As Americans (and just generally as humans...) we tend to fail to see the difference between what we want and what we really need. Look at how much God has blessed us with. I have been in places where the people have absolutely nothing by our standards. They cook outside; they have to get their food daily, because they have no place to store it from day to day. They don't have a bathroom, and they cram ten or more people into a tiny home with just a room or two. They have a little hook on the wall where they can hang their clothes, whatever they happen to not be wearing that day, which isn't too much. They have nothing to the extent that they pick up what we consider to be trash, and they keep it. They don't have clean water. And yet... these people who have so little are so generous. They invite you into their homes and proudly show off their few possessions and their family. They always have a smile for you. There is just nothing like it. They share what they have. It brings tears to your eyes. Trust me, I've been there.