Give Thanks In All Circumstances

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV

This seems pretty close to impossible to do when you are facing something really hard. Pray without ceasing? That one seems the most doable when you feel the need for God to give you strength, hope and His presence every day. Rejoice always? Give thanks in all circumstances? How do you do that when faced with the dire news of our unborn son?

But upon further study, upon further understanding of the story of the Bible, who God is, and what He has done, this can make sense even in the hardest things. Even the author, Paul, hadn't had an easy life - "imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches" 2 Corinthians 11:25. How could he rejoice during all this and give thanks to God? Our rejoicing is not in our circumstances, but in our God. Our circumstances are always changing, but our God is not ("Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8). Because God has been so good to us, even in our rebellion against Him, we have a reason to be joyful - and no circumstance on this earth can take away the beautiful and glorious thing He has done (Romans 5:8) So we, too, can like Paul say we are "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" (2 Corinthians 6:10). And giving thanks? Our situation could always be worse. But we can be thankful for so much in Christ, mainly that He has not left us separated from Him and we have fullness of life in the life to come.

God has graciously given me eyes to see His goodness towards us even in this hard time, and I have much to be grateful for. Let me share with you a few of them:

The circumstances of the ultrasound - I see the midwives at Charlotte OBGYN at their Arboretum location. July 10th was the only day we could do the ultrasound and the only location available was the main office at CMC Medical Center near uptown. I would not have been able to be seen by the specialists at the Women's Institute until after the weekend had I not been at that location, and they got me in upstairs right away on a busy Friday.

Dr. Stein is on the left and the ultrasound technician is in the middle. These are the women that broke the news to me, cried with me and gave me hugs. It was not just another day at the office for them, and they were clearly shaken up by what they had to tell me. What a blessing to have such tender-hearted people at the beginning of all this. I knew I wanted to remember them for their kindness to me in the hardest moment of my life, so I ask if they would mind if I got a picture with them.

Neale Family Vacation - back in the spring, we planned to spend a week with my side of the family in the NC mountains from July 12-19. My family was in Charlotte starting the 9th (my mom was at the ultrasound, thank you, Lord). Being weary from grieving over the weekend, this could not have come at a better time and was exactly what I needed. My family was a blessing to us during such a needy time.

During our stay in the mountains, we found a nearby Chick-Fil-A and participated in their annual Cow Appreciation Day. Lots of free food for this family.

Support, Encouragement and Prayers - in the past 3 weeks, we have been overwhelmed with these. There were messages on Facebook, emails, texts, handwritten letters. Breakfast at our doorstep, dinner just when we needed it between trips, chocolate, fresh flowers and puzzles. Offers of meals and babysitting, connections to those who've been down this road. The church has been particularly good to us. Pastors and elders praying for us and wanting to be of help. Cards and letters from brothers and sisters in Christ. Even though many of you said you didn't know what to say, just saying something meant so much to us. We will need more of that in the months to come.

Examples - we have friends who have modeled before us how to suffer well. Family deaths, miscarriages, and other hard trials. They were open and vulnerable about what they were going through, so we were able to see how God sustained them in their suffering and made them more beautiful and faithful people because of it. I am also thankful for the biblical examples of Job and Paul whose accounts are recorded in Scripture.

Adele Joy - this girl. I know this sounds crazy to say about a toddler, but she is the most mature 15-month-old I know (at least on July 10th) - she came with us to the ultrasound and patiently sat with us as we cried and waited and met with multiple people for over 3 hours, all as we went into her lunchtime and naptime. She is such a sweet-natured girl and has given me countless hugs, kisses and snuggles in the past few weeks. She has been a "Joy" in the midst of great sorrows for our family and exactly what we have needed in this season. God hand-picked her for our family, we are sure of that.

This picture captures her sweetness to me. "Here's a flower for you, Mommy." Here's a hug. Here's a kiss. Here I am for you.

My husband - I cannot begin to imagine what this would be like walking this road without him. Artie is the leader of this family and has led us with strength and tenderness. I saw this in him when his father passed unexpectedly last year. He clearly loved his father deeply and shed many tears in his absence. But the grief did not consume him. He stepped up in a big way in the wake of his dad's death and was a blessing to many, most of all his family. He has not been afraid to feel deeply and to express his emotions. His love runs deep for his son as well, and his strong leadership will be a blessing to me when the times get especially dark. He is my greatest earthly blessing, and sometimes I can't believe he chose me to be his wife. We have been living out our marriage vows, "in joy and in sorrow", in our soon-to-be 4 years of marriage. I would not want to do this with anyone else and I thank God daily for the gift he is to me.

With these gifts of mine: Artie, Adele and Arthur

My God, my Savior - for all that I mentioned at the beginning of this post. He has not left me in my sin, He has given me a living hope. A hope beyond this world. He has given us His Word, and the Scriptures that I have read all these years have come alive to me in a new way these past few weeks (as you can probably tell by the blog posts). They have been a "lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105) on this dark road. Without my Lord, I would not be able to walk through this with any hope. I can be like Paul, sorrowful over the circumstances, but rejoicing in the eternal reality.

What about you? We all are probably suffering to different extents. Maybe it's something hard like we are going through, or the death of a family member or friend, or a difficult relationship, or joblessness, or bodily aches and pains. Even in your present circumstances, can you give thanks to God for something? Do you have joy even in the midst of your pain? It is not easy, but I have been richly blessed by thinking about such things and hope you will be too.