Thankful For The Brown Grass - Becca

Hey everyone! This is Becca, and the title of this may seem a bit shocking to anyone who knows how much I love summer. But, it has a two-fold meaning to something that I'm learning right now that I wanted to share, hoping that it will encourage you. We are gearing up for Thanksgiving, a holiday that is often looked over by the onslaught of Christmas lights and presents, (which by-the-way, did you notice how retailers started to prepare for Christmas before Halloween?).

Well, this goes back to something that has been reoccuring in my life for the last several months and recently. In the beginning of the year, the Lord started speaking to me about complaining/thankfulness through Numbers 11. You can check it out yourself. It's where the Israelites were starting to grumble about the daily miraculous provision that He gave them with the manna (11:6). Think about it. The Lord was AMAZING! Though they were wandering around in the desert and were waiting to taste the goodness of the Promised Land, He lovingly took care of them in the midst of the trials. They didn't have to plant or harvest food. They didn't have to go out and hunt. He tenderly took care of His people as all they had to do was wake up in the morning to the dew and their FRESH nourishment, giving them extra time to be able to seek Him and get to know their God, Whom almost became foreign to them for over 400 years of captivity by the Egyptians!

They started craving and complaining for something more, something "better". But the thing is, is that the Lord is extremely gracious and knows what is best. Then verse 20 comes in and it hit me as He gave them what they cried out for, "because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?" ' "(NIV, emphasis mine) Their complaining wasn't so much against the manna itself, but the Lord and His character.

So many times, we/I, get caught up in the "greener grass" syndrome. We aren't thankful and satisfied with what we have, where we are, what we are doing, etc. Now, don't get me wrong, there is a time for change and seasons, but something that Bebo Norman brought up in the interview that we had with him earlier this year, that if we are ever in a point in our life where we are just looking at what is coming next and trying to just "get through" where we are, then we are missing something that God may be trying to speak into our lives. Aaron Shust recently shared about being grateful for what he is able to do now, all the while knowing that it can change in a day and it all comes back to knowing that his security lies in being "Aaron Shust, child of God", not "Aaron Shust, Christian music recording artist".

My friend told me not long ago that while she was talking on the phone to an overwhelmed friend who has 7 children and a sick husband, another overwhelmed friend beeped in on the phone who is single and has no family, recently moved and doesn't have anyone to help her unpack.

In this season of Thanksgiving, I pray that it is the most precious Thanksgiving that the listeners in this area have had yet. Whether married and parenting just wanting some time alone, single and longing for a companion to start new seasonal traditions with, strapped financially and wishing you could just buy a turkey for a meal or blessed with little to complain about, let us all remember that it's ALL ABOUT THE LORD and His desire to be our EVERYTHING!

Lord, thank You for all the provisions that we have taken for granted! Thank You for Your amazing love and care for us. Thank You that you care more about our relationship with You than our fleshly comforts. Thank You for making a way for us to know You personally. Grant us grateful hearts, not only today, but increasingly every day to come! We humbly ask, in Jesus' Name.