Finding joy: Gratitude from A to Z

BUZZZZIN' WITH MRS. B

 

Though I profess myself to be a Christian, sometimes my behavior would not justify the title. Sometimes God feels very far away from me. When due consideration is given, it is not God who is far from me, but rather I who have wandered away from Him.

I have “Guidepost” magazines stacked up all over the house, waiting for me to read them. One day I decided to put them in the one place where I actually have to stop and take a minute . . . in the bathroom. That’s right, while I am killing time in there, I have made it a point to read the devotion of the day and at least one article in “Guideposts.”

The other day, in one of the journals, I read where a woman prays using the alphabet, starting with A, and ending with Z. She uses the alphabet to put forth her praises, her fears, her frustrations, and her petitions to the Lord. I wondered if I would be able to find letters, people, and needs for every letter. I decided to try it out one morning while walking Roady.

Blackburn

Blackburn

Usually, our walks tire me out and I am often bored with his persistent sniffing and straggling. But once I started my new alphabetical prayer system, I was amazed at how quickly the time went by and how much more grateful, peaceful, and optimistic I was upon reaching home.

One day I prayed, “R is for resentment — Lord, I really don’t want this word to be in my vocabulary, but I find it in my head more and more. What I need from You is resilience, so that I can combat the resentment. Please don’t teach me patience by increasing my load of worries like You did the last time. I really need that gift of resilience to be given to me right now, so that I can show the resilience and the patience that you are trying to teach me.”

At once, I felt like a weight had been lifted and a sliver of peace like a ray of sunshine through the clouds lit my path. I am trying to continue the new process, and each day I seem to add or remember something or someone else I had promised to pray for but may or may not have done.

I am still trying to use my prayer bowl. On that one, I have a lovely wooden bowl and each time there is someone who needs prayer for whatever reason, I write their name and/ or their need and the date and put it in the bowl. Each day I try to pull out at least one or two names from the bowl and pray especially hard for them. For a while, I was also trying to go through the entire bowl at least weekly. Beside the bowl is a notebook; when a prayer has been answered or the problem resolved, I move the name from the bowl into the notebook. Once in a while, I reread the notebook and smile or cry at the answers that were given.

My ex-husband has been battling brain cancer for over four years. While moving some of his long-collected treasures from one building to another, he found an old sign from the long-gone Methodist Church that used to be across the street from him in Burnettsville. The sign depicts Jesus and the word JOY; J for Jesus, O for others, and Y for yourself. He hung it at the foot of his bed where he could see it every day. During his increasing days in bed, he would often look at the plaque and think about his life. One day he related that he could see that he had often lived his life in the reverse, thinking first about what he wanted, then others, and God last. When he made that connection, he realized that living it the other way might provide him with the JOY that he had been missing. Would that we could all learn the same lesson!

Wishing you today a day filled with gratitude from A to Z and a heart filled with Joy!

‘Til Next Time!

A Joyful Mrs. B.

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