“Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17 NIV)
It’s been a slothfully slow week for the Thoresons. Last Thursday I woke up with a headache behind my right eye. I spent the day in the grip of that headache, it was unfazed by my regular remedies: coffee, water, tylenol, even my old friend, Dr. Pepper, failed to abate the tension. A sore throat settled in that night and on Friday my sense of smell and taste were fading. Nausea and painful, dripping eyes accompanied, and Rob started feeling similarly. By Saturday evening, Sarah was down for the count, too. Monday brought a doctor’s visit and rapid CoVid test, an unconvincing negative. The physician presumed us all positive, banishing us to quarantine-land, an isolation measure we’d already been embracing.
The days have drug by with mild but tiring symptoms. Thankfully we participated in early voting weeks ago, still, election day was especially dreary and unproductive, only adding to the tension of two more weeks at home on the tail of eight months of social distancing. It’s a bit brutal for an extrovert like myself, and especially annoying since we’ve been so careful with masks and hand-washing and six feet apart. I had been scheduled to fly today, off for six days of reconnection with a college friend, a vacation I’ve rescheduled too many times already this year. 2020 strikes again, thankfully Southwest refunded my points. Someday the world will open back up and I’ll make up for lost time.
I’ve been thinking all day about waiting well, as we wait for our symptoms to pass and for the election to be final. The world waits for a vaccine, for an end to the pandemic that has disrupted so many. I’m at a slight advantage; my metholic upbringing (Methodist and Catholic) has prepared me well for a stretched out season like the one we are experiencing. Advent and Lent are all about waiting: ten full weeks a year are dedicated to marking time and tending to hope.
Today’s gratitude scripture reminds me to do all things for the glory of God. Soli Deo Gloria or SDG as Johann Sebastian Bach scribbled on the corners of every manuscript, making the intent of his music obvious. I can’t do much right now. Laundry and dishes leave me a little winded. Brain fog gets in the way of writing. Gritty eyes make reading a strain. So for the most part I sit and wait for this chapter to close and even this stillness is for the glory of God. I wait with confidence that He is on the throne, He has a plan and it includes good things for His children. For that, I am thankful.
God’s plan outlasts this election. Some may need to read that a second time and let the hope gather anew in their chest. God’s plan is so far-sighted and so sure that we can express gratitude today, even while we wait. His plan is eternal and we can trust Him even while we don’t yet understand it.
So we wait. We watch the news. We pray for God’s will and we align ourselves with the agenda of heaven. I’m slowly re-reading One Thousand Gifts and quietly re-piecing my grace list: quiet days to recover, a cozy home, friends who bring by bananas for cramping muscles, Face-time in my pajamas, NyQuil-induced sleep, infrared thermometers, a comfy couch and a Thanksgiving tablecloth I’ve been embroidering for years. Each stitch reminds my heart to beat grateful.
We wait and we give thanks. Those are the divine orders for the Thoreson family and just maybe they apply to you today, too.
“Whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus [and in dependence on Him], giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17 AMP)
Lord, we want to honor You in all our things: in our doing and our speaking and even our resting. Help us live for Your glory. May we wait well when needed, and give thanks in all circumstances. We are confident in Your ability to redeem all things. Amen.
** We appear to all be on the mend. So grateful to God for a mild case of this virus and offering up prayers for those that are still in it’s grip.