The Kitchen Table: Grateful Beyond Measure

On Friday, January 4th I turned 60 years of age. And I was so surprised at how very grateful to God I was to see this milestone birthday. Wow!! I was so excited that I stayed up til midnight. Well, I fell asleep watching TV before that, but the Holy Spirit was gracious and woke me up at 11:50pm. ~Smile~ You would think that would have been enough, but it wasn’t. I kept waking up throughout the night thanking God over and over!!! My birthday celebration was fabulous and all I had hoped for. And I found myself throughout the day wanting to cry great tears of joy because I was so overwhelmed with gratitude for God’s great love for me.

It’s been one week since my birthday and I’ve had time to think about why I was so excited and happy about turning 60 years old? I know women who won’t admit that they are 60, I know some who were very depressed when the big 60 rolled around. I also know women who never got to see their 60th birthday and others who are sick with bodies that are just giving out. And then there are those, whose lives resemble nothing of the things they had hoped. So, why was I so wonderfully elated?

Let me give you a short background on my life, so that you will see it was far from a bed of roses—more like a bed of thrones so to speak. I was born to a woman who really never wanted children, and she was not married to my father, (which I have never met). She felt burden down with me, and it didn’t help that I looked a lot like my father. Her haltered for him and low self-esteem were all played out on me. From as early as I can remember I was told how much she hated me, and that I was nothing (she used other colorful words no one should ever say to anyone especially a kid) and would never be nothing. I grew up with low self-worth and a deep root of rejection. This made me prime pickings for the wrong kind of man, and I ended up making some of the same poor choices my mother did. I’ve been a single mom nonstop for 38 years—my two girls are 18 years apart. And it has taken years for God to convenience me that He loves me and I am a worthy human being, because He says so. My life has been far from easy but God never threw me away the way others have and that is what has changed my world.

Last week I wrote about the “Greatest Love of All” ourselves! Why? Because I know firsthand what it is to live a life of self-hatred, and I also know what’s it’s like to live a life of self-love and self-value.

Last year during my Women’s Bible Study I hit upon the Shalom (peace of God) and Laboring to enter God’s rest in a new way!!! A life changing way!! I really began to Labor (work hard at) entering God’s rest. In fact ladies it is the only thing that God tells us to labor in….hum, now there’s a thought. In order to achieve this I had to pull down all the mental thoughts that rose up against God on a daily bases. (See 2 Corinthians 10:5) Such as, “You’re stupid Ponnie, you’ll never get it!” That is a lie form the pit. Why? Because the Bible tells me that I have the mind of Christ and trust me there is nothing stupid about Him! Also there were circumstances in my life that were trying desperately to steal my daily peace and joy. I refused to let it happen…again! This time I was going to Labor to enter into God’s rest no matter what the heck was going on around me. Sisters, it wasn’t easy, but I did it!!!! And I used my faith and the Word of God to do it!! And you know what? After months of working on this, (and I hadn’t even realized it) I had so much Word overflowing in me and a new found sense of God’s greatness in my life. Yup all that happened for me!!!!

So, when it was time for my birthday, I was excited because who I am today only happened because of all the things I had lived through. God had taken my broken and hard life (my ashes) and turned it into a thing of beauty—according to His Will. My eyes are tearing up now just thinking about His love for me.

One of the best decisions I have ever made while living in the Kingdom of God is, to study out in His Word what it means to Labor to enter into His rest. It has changed my life and the way I view things. It has renewed my mind in a way I never thought possible. The more we trust God and lean on Christ Jesus, the more we tap into the unlimited power source of the God Head, and the more we will achieve.

Sisters, no matter how bad things are in your life today, you can find rest and peace in God. It takes work, that is why the Bible says we are to “Labor” to enter into God’s rest, but it is the best thing you can do for yourself and your family.

I pray that I have encouraged you to get into your Bibles and study what it says for your lives.

The more you know about God the more you will love and trust Him. That only comes with spending time with Him.