Thankful

17
Aug
2022

Grumbling

Grumble – just the word itself sounds negative and discouraging. Grumbling is an expression of discontent or complaining. How often do we find ourselves with a feeling of discontent and we want to be sure that everyone else knows about it.

I am reading through the book of Numbers in the Bible and the grumbling of the Israelites always brings about the same response from, “what is wrong with them?” They had been slaves in Egypt, and God showed up in a big way demonstrating His power by inflicting the Egyptians with the 10 plagues and then parting the Red Sea so they walk on dry ground. What an amazing demonstration of God’s power and abilities and care for His people.

God helped the Israelites, which numbered over one million people, to walk out of Egypt with all their belongings while also being given things by the Egyptians, and cross the Red Sea on dry ground as free people. Only God could orchestrate such a grand feat. Imagine being part of that whole amazing process. Watching the 10 plagues take place before your eyes. Watching Pharaoh let the Israelites leave. Then walking between 2 walls of water on dry ground.

As if that wasn’t enough, God provided manna for the Israelites to eat. They didn’t have to work for it; they just had to go out and pick it up. All they needed to pick up was enough for the day.

There were multiple instances of the Israelites grumbling, but the one that amazes me the most is the following excerpt from Numbers 11: 4-6:

“…And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

So they wanted to eat fish that cost them nothing. They were slaves. Had they forgotten that little bitty fact? The fish cost them something. It cost them their freedom.

So fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic are more valuable than freedom. At least from their current vantage point, that is what seemed valuable.

If you remember from Exodus 2:23 “During the many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery.”

When they were slaves, they weren’t happy. When they were free they weren’t happy. When they heard about the people in the Promised Land they were going to have to defeat, they grumbled. As you continue to read through Numbers, you see the Israelites grumbling. No matter the situation, they were discontent.

Being discontent with our current situation is what causes us to grumble. Discontentment is the heart attitude.  If you ever wonder what is in your heart, look at what comes out of your mouth or is seen in your actions.

No matter the situation, do you grumble and complain about it? You have a heart attitude of discontent. Other people that are around you know if you are a grumbler and a complainer. Ask them and find out what they think.

If we put off discontent, we must put something on. What is the new heart attitude we should strive to have? Thankfulness.

“For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1:21).

No matter the circumstance, we are called to be thankful. When a situation happens, God is sending it your way to reveal what is in your heart. Take some time to evaluate what comes out of you in response to the circumstance.

You have a choice. What will you choose?

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments
25
Nov
2020

“I Hate Covid”

“I hate Covid!”  I received this text from one of my daughters recently. How many of us have had similar thoughts and sentiments? The disruption to people’s lives and their incomes is something we cannot fully wrap our heads around event though we have all lived through it. We all have our own opinions regarding what the government should and should not be doing. We all have different opinions regarding what they can mandate and what they cannot. We all have had different and varied responses over the course of this long and drawn out virus. One day we are complicit and the next day we are over it all.

So when these thoughts and feelings creep up into our thoughts and hearts of “I hate Covid!” What should our response be?

First, we must remember the most important thing about this situation and that is God is Sovereign. That was my first response to my daughter. I think the person from Scripture that we can find the most comfort in through difficult times is Job. At the end of the trials he went through he said to God, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2). God has a purpose in all things and we need to trust His purposes even though in our human minds they do not make sense. God’s purposes are much greater than ours. We must also remember, that nothing takes God by surprise. He knew all about this virus before it even appeared.

Over the course of the last 6 years, we have raised 4 puppies for Leader Dogs for the Blind. When we get those puppies at 7 weeks old, they are sweet and cute and cuddly. Yet, they have so much to learn. I know what their purpose is as I train them, but they do not understand their purpose. What they understand is if I sit, I get a treat. If I walk nicely on the leash, I get a treat. They function based on the rewards they receive. I know their purpose, so I train them and treat them accordingly.

God also has a purpose for each of our lives. The more we desire to submit to His will and learn what He has to teach us, the better we are to be “conformed to the image of His Son.” (Rom. 8:29). None of us like trials and tests. No one wants to go through a hard time. One of our puppies did not respond as well to the training as she should have. She resisted often the training that she needed to participate in and because of this resistance she was career changed from her original purpose to one of being someone’s pet. Her purpose at birth was to be a Leader Dog for the Blind, but because of her resistance to training her purpose changed.

God has a purpose for each of our lives. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10). The question is will we willingly submit to His plans and purposes or will we turn from God to try to follow after what we deem to be a better plan?

Second, we must remember to be thankful for all things. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (I Thess. 5:18). This was my other reminder to my daughter. Be thankful. I reminded her of all the blessings she has experienced because of Covid. I think we can all think of something to be thankful for because of Covid.

As hard as this never ending Covid saga is, we must remember two things:

  1. God is Sovereign
  2. Be thankful for all things

I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving and remember to be thankful for all things and thank God for His sovereignty.

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments
22
Apr
2020

Are you content?

We are in our sixth week of quarantine. How are you coping? What things are you going to take away from this experience? Have you ever noticed that when a challenge or an obstacle arises it brings out your worst? There is a reason for that.

Here’s an illustration to help you understand this. Say you have a cup of hot tea. When you bump that cup of tea, what comes out of it? Tea, of course.

The same is true with us. When we have a difficult situation come into our life that is the “bump,” and what comes out is what is in our hearts.

So during this Covid-19 crises, what is coming out of your heart making itself evident in your life?

My guess is one of the top things is lack of contentment.

So what is at the heart of not being content? It is an ungrateful spirit. If we are not thankful for what we have, then it is easy to complain about everything we do have. Paul tells us in I Thessalonians 5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” No matter what the situation we are in, we should be thankful. We should even be thankful for the situation. That is the hardest thing to do, be thankful for the situation. Yet, Paul tells us in this verse to be thankful in every situation. Paul does not tell us that it will be easy, but he does tell us what to do. Be thankful in all circumstances.

During supper at my house, we have been sharing one thing we are thankful for. It has helped us to see the positives like a Zoom meeting with friends, a phone call, playing games with friends online, getting things done we didn’t have time for before, a delivery from Amazon. So many things that we used to take for granted, we now are thankful for.

I hope that this this crises is giving us a new appreciation for things that we once complained about.

Who used to dread going to the grocery store? Now, it’s our favorite thing to do.

What about going to church on Sunday? Did you barely make it in time or wish you could stay in bed longer? Now we can stay in bed till 1 minute before the service starts or we can even wake up and watch the service in our PJ’s in bed. Don’t you miss being with other believers?

How many of us wanted extra time to get some things done. Now we have that extra time to get extra things done. We might be careful what we wish for next timeJ

I would encourage you to think about what your take aways for this are going to be. Take some time (which you have) and consider what you have learned during this time.

Remember how valuable it is to have a schedule. Rather than getting to the end of your day and feeling like you accomplished nothing, arrive at the end of your day with a to-do list or a schedule with everything crossed off. I love the days I make a schedule and all that I am able to get done. I also have some days that I have a general guide to my days, but I leave a little margin in those days too. It is nice for me to have a balance of scheduled and unscheduled days. I appreciate them both more.

If you have not started finding something to be thankful for each day, start today. It will help you to become more content.

If you haven’t developed a schedule yet, start today. Set your schedule up for tomorrow and stick to it.

Don’t let this quarantine be a wasted time in your life. Make the most of your time. What is coming out when you are bumped?

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments
28
Nov
2019

Thanksgiving 2019

All is quiet this Thanksgiving morning. The fire is crackling in the fireplace. Upstairs a newlywed couple sleeps and two exhausted college students. My husband is still sleeping in our bedroom. I just received word yesterday that my sweet Future Leader Dog Millie has moved on to the final stage of training at Leader Dogs for the Blind, and if she passes this one she will be matched with a blind person. My heart is full of Thanksgiving.

The truth is, though, I am not always thankful. Do you ever catch yourself grumbling and complaining about anything and everything? I have been convicted this last week about how much I complain. The opposite of complaining and being ungrateful is contentment and thankfulness. Everything in life does not have to be perfect in order to be thankful. Actually, our life should be more about our attitude toward life than what actually happens.

As I have been reflecting on this concept and my ungrateful heart attitude, I have been trying to notice the things that come out of my mouth more. I have been thanking God for the things that previously I was grumbling about.

Honestly, I have nothing to ungrateful for. I have a house full of my favorite people. Good news about my favorite dog. A job that offers a lot of flexibility. A wonderful husband who takes such good care of me. A reliable car. Today, we have internet that works again. Most importantly, I have a God who loves me and sent His only Son to redeem me, pay for my sins by dying on the cross for me, and He still loves me with my ungrateful heart.

As I was taking care of one of my patients yesterday with these thoughts present on my heart and mind, I tried to help her to see the other side of her coin. Yes, she had some things to be ungrateful for, but I tried to help her see that she had something to be thankful for. As we worked together and she would start to complain, I would redirect her thoughts to something to be thankful for. By the time I left her, she had a smile for me that was genuine and sincere. Life is funny that way isn’t it?

Our attitudes can be contagious.

We all have something we can grumble and complain about. When we do it puts us in a category of very ugly people according to Scripture. “For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to parents, UNGRATEFUL, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying it power. Avoid such people.”  (II Tim. 3:2-5).

God told us through the pen of Timothy to avoid such people.

It’s easy on Thanksgiving to think of all the things we are thankful for, but Thanksgiving should be something we should do every day. Every day, there are many things to be thankful for.

I am thankful that all of our children wanted to come home and spend Thanksgiving with their parents. What a blessing that is to my heart. Most of all, I am thankful for a God who loves me all the time every day. Even on the days when I am ungrateful.

Happy Thanksgiving! From my precious family to yours!

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 4 comments