Multitude Monday

 

A week ago on Sunday, Dan and I were in the middle of the Allegheny National Forest doing a 7 mile hike. As we hiked, I looked around and was amazed at all the different sights. This one caught my eye. It was a tree that had grown up around a boulder. The roots were draped over the sides of this rock and yet, they went down deep in the ground to hold up the tree which obviously, had been growing for many years.

Despite the giant-sized boulder, the tree just bypassed it and grew anyway. It was a good reminder to me that I often come across obstacles and boulders in my path. Rather than curl up and wither, God gives me the strength to find away to carry on the task He has given me even with the boulder in the way. Because my roots are anchored in Him, I can grow spiritually despite the obstacle.

Today is Multitude Monday and the time I thank Him for the many ways I've seen Him work over the past week and I'm thankful for those opportunities to grow despite the circumstances.

This week I'm thankful for blessings #3,936 - 3,948.

3936. I had such a block when it came to working on a message, but I'm thankful that one morning I woke up and suddenly I had a clear picture of what I should speak on.

3937. I received a large order of tea cozies for a tea business.

3938. The opportunity to bless the local farmer's market. They are doing a fundraiser and asked if I would provide cookies for meal boxes they are putting together. 33 dozen cookies are in the works!

3939. My mother is going through chemotherapy for her cancer that is back. I'm thankful that the tumors in her chest and neck are shrinking. The concern is the one in her bladder wall has grown so she is going to need surgery to put a stint in to relieve pressure on the tubes going to her kidneys. Would appreciate prayer for her continued healing.

3940. Saturday I volunteered to stay at the church to wait for a delivery of a new oven. After sitting for 7 hours, I discovered that supposedly they came during the 10 minutes I was downstairs in our children's area even though the door was unlocked. lol But, I'm so thankful that it was such a productive day. It was quiet and I got much done that I normally wouldn't have on a Saturday.

3941. I'm thankful the delivery has been rescheduled for a weekday when someone will be at the church.

3942. We started our Sunday School program and small group yesterday and I'm thankful that we had such a great turnout for all the adult programs. 

3943. I'm thankful for the one little girl who came to Sunday School because it was a fun lesson and she had really grown since I last saw her back in March. So basically that meant she was much more talkative and willing to participate. :-)

3944. I'm thankful for the teen who is helping me out during Sunday School. It's an opportunity to get to know him better and he brought some good energy.

3945. Dan and I had lunch with a family from church the other day. I'm thankful that I got to know them better. I had never met most of them because we were only here 2 months before everything closed down. It feels as if there is some sort of normalcy beginning to happen.

3946. An unexpected gift in the mail.

3947. A car that just keeps on moving. It has over 246,000 miles on it and we had to replace the starter this week, but it is still running.

and finally...

3948. I'm thankful for the boulders in my life that are opportunities to grow around them.