We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Thessalonians 1:2-3)
One of my dream trips is to visit Thessaloniki. It is tucked up in the northeast of Greece at the top of the Aegean Sea. It is a metropolitan city with immense history and biblical importance. Paul founded a church there and wrote them a letter expressing his love for them and his longing to come visit them again. In this letter we have these wonderful words that I quoted above: We always give thanks...
As we move deeper into our Summer it is a good time to remind ourselves to take time to give thanks for what we have here in our own part of the world. It is easy to give into despair, anger, and frustration about what is going on around us, in our country and in our world. But, it is good for us to sit and list the people we give thanks for, the beauty that we see and the wonder that our God is among us.
While doing this I was able to give thanks for my good friend Dan's father Ernie.
I left for Eastern Washington University in the fall of 1983 not knowing anyone and having my dorm assignment made by the housing department. When I moved into my dorm room I met this 6'7" guy named Dan who was moving into the dorm across the hallway. Helping him were his parents Ernie and Carol. Without hesitation, after hearing where I was from, they insisted that I was to be included in their hospitality. Ernie was a very curious person. He wanted to know everything about me, and my roommate, and the other guys on our hall. I learned a lot from Ernie those five years of college and grew to love him as mentor and friend. He showed us guys an alternative way of being a man in the world that did not involve machismo (Ernie served in the Air Force and flew the first AWACS!). He celebrated with us our birthdays and our accomplishments. He died this Spring, so I have been reliving these memories and reflecting on what I have learned from him. I am forever thankful to God for looking out after me by placing Ernie in my life.
Greece and Ernie have nothing in common other than how good our world can be. That a faraway place that I have never seen and a man I just happened to meet in a dorm hallway can give me hope and steady my faith. It is good to always give thanks to God for the many ways that God has blessed us in a world that seems hellbent on destruction.
I hope your Summer is gratifying and that you are able to find ways to give thanks for the many blessings that have come to your life. And keep telling stories!
