Thankful

It's Thanksgiving Day.   My most favorite holiday.  I believe with all my heart that when we practice gratitude....when we feel it deeply and sincerely...for everything God has given us...the good, the bad, the times when we feel like everything is falling apart and the times when we feel ecstatic about the good things that are  happening...when at the end of the day we feel a deep and sincere gratitude....it brings a peace that has no explanation other than the goodness of our God. 

There are times in life that need to be documented....written down in order to process and grasp the reality of a situation.  I actually have this handwritten from several months ago, but wanted to put it up on the blog to give it a bit of permanence to come back to.  Obviously, it's been a minute since my last post.  I wrapped up last year's school year in a whirlwind with lots of volunteer hours as 8th grade class coordinator and a sweet conclusion to my oldest's middle school days.  We rolled right into summer with a packed schedule...all three boys with their own teams and activities...hubby working what felt like every waking moment...and me just trying to keep up with it all.  

Jack had the awesome opportunity to travel to Montana with our church youth group to assist in flood clean up and relief work around Yellowstone that was damaged by flooding.  My boy has a heart to work and serve and take care of others.  He was the only boy his age who went and never once doubted his decision.  It was hard to send him off, but made easier knowing it was exactly what God had called him to do.  The week went by with a few texts here and there with quick updates about how things were going.  I got in the important questions...."are you showering?...are you getting enough to eat?...are you making new friends?" 😊  Each time I got a reply by text with short but satisfying answers.  Two days before they were scheduled to come home, I was thrilled when "Jack" popped up on my ringing phone.  When I answered he said, "Mom, Mr. Aaron (his youth leader), needs to talk to you."  I got in a quick, "Are you OK?", to which he said, "Yes", before handing the phone to Aaron.  I say hello to Aaron and hear him say, "You should be so proud of your son...he is so brave, and so strong...", and I hear his voice cracking with emotion.  At this point my heart feels like it is going to pound out of my chest and I just keep saying, "is he ok?  is he ok? is he ok?!."  "He's ok...he took a fall off a mountain, but he's ok",  he says and I can hear the deep relief in his voice.  

They had driven up to Glacier National Park for a hike on Saturday before returning home on Monday.  When I received that phone call, they were on their way to the ER.  All I knew at that point was that he had fallen, he was cut and scraped, but otherwise seemed good.  After 2 very long days I finally got to pick him up in the middle of the night after they had flown home.  Aaron had asked to meet with us first thing that same morning.  He proceeded to tell us everything that had happened on that mountain.  Jack had climbed up a glacier with a pretty steep incline, to fill his water bottle while they were stopped for lunch.  He lost his footing as he was coming back down, and started to fall.  He tried to catch himself as he kept running and falling until he ran out of ground...at which point his head smacked a boulder and he summersaulted through the air before somehow landing on the trail below where they were.  Aaron saw the whole thing.  A 55 foot fall.  Aaron was shaken and emotional as he told us.  "It was the worst thing I have ever seen....when I was running to him, I just knew that he was either dead, or on the verge of dying."  At this point, the reality of the situation hit us smack in the face.  The leaders felt like they needed to wait until they were home to fully explain the horror, but also the miracle that had occurred.  And I'm so glad they did.  I'm not sure I could have handled hearing all the details, with him still thousands of miles away.  He was ok.  He was really banged up, he was hurting with soreness, but after the fall he walked the remaining 3 miles off that mountain.  Yes, he is a very tough kid.  Yes, he is so incredibly brave.  Yes, he probably should have been a bit more cautious as he was climbing down the glacier...but this outcome...the fact that he was alive without any serious injuries....it's only because of God.  

God in his great goodness....for ways we cannot fully understand....saved Jack that day.  As I continued to hear different people recount seeing him fall....there is just no other explanation.  It was the complete and miraculous power of the God we serve.  And I have thanked him for that miracle every single day since.  

We have so much to be grateful for.  Even when life doesn't look quite how we had pictured it....even if there are so many questions we don't have answers for...He is still there....in his complete goodness.  In my praising and thanking God for sparing Jack's life that day, my mind can't help but wonder the what ifs.....what if things had gone differently?....what if he had been seriously injured, or worse?...what then?  It is the prayer of my heart that even then we would have rested in his perfect plan.....knowing that even when we are in the middle of the mess...he promises that there is always a redemptive purpose in his plan.  

So this Thanksgiving I am so grateful that we serve a God who never breaks his promises.  He promises to never leave or forsake us....he promises an eternal life with him when we surrender our own....and he promises that his plan is always greater than anything we could try to accomplish on our own.  So thank you God...today and always....for my loving husband, my 3 wonderful children, our extended family, our church family...all of the blessings in our life.  My cup overflows.  

Happy Thanksgiving!  

a clip from Youth Sunday, when Aaron and Jack both shared their stories....slide to around minute 36.