thankful

The more I live, the more clumsy I feel.  So frequently I am too much (too loud, too impatient, too insensitive, too judgmental) or not enough (not diligent, not attentive, not kind, not forgiving).  Recently my posture toward God has been one of shame: "What do You want with a terrible person like me?  I think I might be physically incapable of doing anything that would honor You."

I know - insanely self-pitying, right?

Which brings me to what I'm thankful for today.  First, I'm thankful for Christians who (unlike me) skip the whining and go out and worship God with their lives.  Luckily, I know a lot of them.  It's incredibly reassuring to watch teachers, cashiers, and doctors who work hard at what they do because they love the Lord and they believe that we should respond to the reality of God in a practical way.  I feel fortunate to have these people to look up to as I pray for God to teach me what faith looks like in ordinary times.

Even more importantly, I am thankful that God has already dealt with the sins and shortcomings that I can't seem to let go of for myself:

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. (Galatians 4:5-7)