Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1Thessalonians 5:17, English Standard Version
I am in a dilemma at the moment. Things are happening around me that I don’t understand. It could be that I am just coming off of a 30-Day Blogging Challenge with the Rave Reviews Book Club, and I have become sensitive, or I am tired.
It is at times when I have gone beyond my energy supply and I am running on reserved strength that gratitude is not an easy path for me to walk. It means taking my anger, frustration, disappointment, annoyance, or whatever I might be feeling and taking a stroll down memory lane to look at some of the good things I have experienced, like the successful completion of the RRBC 30-Day Blogging Challenge. Or it might be just peering at my garden and noticing that Daniel and Joshua, my cherry trees, have blossomed since yesterday.
I cannot stop the things that bring upheaval into my life. Most of the time, such incidents catch me on my blindside. But I can choose how I react to them. The choice is always mine. I have learned that this is how I reinforce my vision. As one of my favorite mentors, Viktor Frankel, said in Man In Search Of Meaning, at the beginning of his book, “detachment is granted to the outsider, but he is too far removed to make any statements of real value. (Frankel was writing about his time in the concentration camp.) Only the man inside knows. His judgments may not be objective; his evaluations may be out of proportion. This is inevitable. But an attempt must be made to avoid any personal bias.”
Therefore, the strength within me gives me the willpower to detach myself from my emotions and see anything coming at me differently. Thus, as I beheld Daniel and Joshua, my sentiments slowly turned to a deep sense of thankfulness, and my heart was amazed again at God’s faithfulness to me. Truly, I am thankful.
I woke up on this side of life this morning, still walking out my story. This side of life makes me aware that I’m still breathing. Looking out the window built into my roof, I saw rain.
After getting cleaned up and dressed, I gazed out the window again; I saw sunshine. The weather had changed quickly in three-quarters of an hour, and I could perceive this change. I lifted my head toward Heaven and said Thank you!
I was in my right mind. I could think; I wasn’t walking around with a wild look in my eyes. I knew where I was and what I was doing, and I could comprehend and contemplate.
My awareness of my surroundings made me look out of my glassed-in patio doors as I read my Bible, and I smiled and thanked God for His faithfulness to me, one of the sheep of His pasture.
Oh, the joy it brings my heart to say I am in my RIGHT MIND. Yes, and for that, I am truly thankful.
I woke up this morning, lay in my bed, and counted the movements of my lungs. I had to smile because, for many, that is foolishness, a waste of time. I call it awareness.
Turned over and left my bed without needing someone to help me, showered, chose what I wanted to wear and dressed, and then went downstairs.
Had what I wanted to eat for breakfast and began planning the tasks I needed to do before they became urgent, and pushed me into a stressful mode that would make my week difficult and me angry.
Yes, my calendar is full. However, a full calendar shows me the necessity of putting God first-–to show gratitude if I want to see any progress in my tasks. Whether cooking, writing, reading a chapter in a good book, listening to good music, or paying attention to what is happening around me and reaching out to help, taking the time to meditate first is necessary for me. It’s my time to look toward Heaven, regardless of whether it is night or day, and to tell God I am truly thankful.
Turned over in bed this morning and noticed the sun had not yet risen. It reminded me that the earth is rotating slowly as it prepares my part of the world for the engulfing winter months ahead. Autumn is here; the more we move out of it, the cooler it gets. The temperature in my bedroom made me aware that winter patiently stood at the door, waiting to enter, and I covered my head and snoozed for fifteen minutes before I got up.
The seasons of the year we humans cannot change, and I’m happy about that. Our man-controlled abusive interference with nature is limited to manipulating the time so that we gain an hour in summer, and the day is longer, but we get that hour back in winter, making the days long, dark, and sometimes dreary.
The environment is a mystery. Its wonders are secrets hidden in the pockets of the Heavens. This morning, I had the opportunity to snooze for fifteen minutes and then the pleasure of seeing the Heavens light up and unfold as the sun rose, and for that, I Am Thankful.
It doesn’t seem like seven years, but it is—many thanks to the administrative team at RRBC and the entire RRBC Organization for your support. It is much appreciated.
Today is Monday, and I asked myself what this week would bring. As a woman who contemplates the elusiveness of time and how difficult it is to grasp, I have long realized the wheel of time doesn’t move by weeks, months, or years but by seconds, minutes, and hours that make a night and a day into twenty-four hours. What we do with our twenty-four hours is up to us. We choose. Knowing that, I have decided to take the seconds that turn into minutes, the minutes that turn into hours, and the hours that sum up the complexity of the earth’s rotation around the sun and see time as a one-day gift to live and enjoy. Each day I awake is a new beginning, and I am thankful for that one night and day.
Started out in two thousand and twenty-one with the same dream hovering over me,
A dream that has been gliding above me since I was three years of age.
The dream keeps me…
changing
reflecting
bending
walking
running
and sometimes
stopping,
as I wait at a red light that screams STOP!
Until it turns green again,
So that I may sail or fly to my next destination.
The dream digs out the uneven dark edges of
envy
hatred
jealousy
and pride,
Clothed in
disappointments
setbacks
misunderstandings
failures
defeats
and obstacles.
It removes poisonous arrows, I pointed at others, so that they don’t pivot and bounce back at me.
The dream replaces those poisonous arrows with
humility
kindness
grace
mercy
and love.
It reminds me that nothing grows overnight,
That life is a process,
That maturity comes only through being pressed,
And feeling the pains of growth, not denying them.
Didn’t know in the beginning that dreams deferred don’t die.
They hover in an irresolute state, fluttering over burners waiting to spring into life.
Had no idea that they rose according to my maturity in HIM.
Like beautiful yellow corn, covered in green husks on stalks,
dreams bloom one at a time – at the appointed time.
Never knew that taking one step would lead to another… and another… and another…
As I let the dream wrap me in the swaddling light of its presence.
Never knew that answers lay within my grasp,
That a person’s greatness is determined by their heart attitude,
That self-acceptance brings peace,
That recognition of who you are lies within the faith of knowing who HE is.
Therefore, as we move toward Christmas and afterward toward laying down the mantel of 2021 to put on the coat of 2022, I, Patricia Anne Pierce-garcia Schaack, say thank you. You have followed me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and my blogs, and sent me much encouragement, and I am eternally grateful for your support.
And to my family, which is colorful and multi-international with different languages, and spread-out all-over Europe, the UK, Canada, South Africa, and the United States of America, thanks for hanging in there and being patient with me. It’s meant a lot to me.
Merry Christmas to you all and have a safe crossover into 2022.
Take care, be safe, and I hope to see you next year.
Love y’all.
Shalom aleichem
Pat Garcia
Translation: Wahrlich, ich bin dankbar – Ein Psalm der Dankbarkeit von Pat Garcia
Ich begann das Jahr 2021 mit demselben Traum, der über mir schwebte,
Einem Traum, der über mir schwebte, seit ich drei Jahre alt war.
Der Traum …
… verändert mich
… lässt mich nachdenken
… fordert mich heraus
… lässt mich gehen
… lässt mich laufen
und manchmal hält er mich auf,
während ich auf eine rote Ampel warte, die STOP schreit!
Bis sie wieder grün wird,
Damit ich zu meinem nächsten Ziel fliegen kann.
Der Traum bringt die unebenen dunklen Seiten von
Neid
Hass
Eifersucht
und Stolz hervor.
Eingekleidet in
Enttäuschungen
Rückschlägen
Missverständnissen
Misserfolgen
Niederlagen
und Hindernissen.
Der Traum entfernt giftige Pfeile, die ich auf andere gerichtet habe, bevor sie sich drehen und auf mich zurückprallen.
Der Traum ersetzt diese giftigen Pfeile durch
Demut
Freundlichkeit
Gnade
Barmherzigkeit
und Liebe.
Er erinnert mich daran, dass nichts über Nacht wächst,
dass das Leben ein Prozess ist,
dass man nur reift, wenn man unter Druck geformt wird
und die Schmerzen des Wachstums spürt, anstatt sie zu verleugnen.
Ich wusste anfangs nicht, dass aufgeschobene Träume nicht sterben.
Sie schweben im Ungewissen, sie köcheln auf kleiner Flamme und warten darauf, lebendig zu werden.
Ich hatte keine Ahnung, dass sie umso lebendiger werden, je reifer ich in IHM werde.
Wie schöner gelber Mais, bedeckt mit grünen Spelzen an den Stängeln,
blühen die Träume einer nach dem anderen – zur bestimmten Zeit.
Ich wusste nicht, dass ein Schritt zum nächsten führen würde… und zum nächsten… und zum nächsten…
Während ich zuließ, dass der Traum mich in das Licht Seiner Gegenwart einhüllte.
Ich hätte nie gedacht, dass Antworten in greifbarer Nähe liegen,
Dass die Größe eines Menschen von seiner Herzenshaltung bestimmt wird,
Dass Selbstakzeptanz Frieden bringt,
Dass man erkennt, wer man ist, wenn man weiß, wer ER ist.
Während wir uns also auf Weihnachten zubewegen und danach den Mantel des Jahres 2021 ablegen, um den Mantel des Jahres 2022 anzuziehen, sage ich, Patricia Anne Pierce-Garcia Schaack, danke. Ihr seid mir auf Facebook, Instagram, Twitter und in meinen Blogs gefolgt, habt mir viel Zuspruch gegeben und ich bin euch unendlich dankbar für eure Unterstützung.
Und meiner bunten multinationalen Familie, die viele Sprachen spricht und über ganz Europa, Großbritannien, Kanada, Südafrika und die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika verstreut ist, danke ich dafür, dass ihr durchgehalten habt und geduldig mit mir wart. Das hat mir sehr viel bedeutet.
Ich wünsche euch allen frohe Weihnachten und einen sicheren Jahreswechsel.
Passt auf euch auf, seid vorsichtig, und ich hoffe, wir sehen uns nächstes Jahr wieder.
Woke Up this morning. Shades of pink speckled the white cirrocumulus clouds, Spread thinly across portions of the blue Heaven, Outside my window.
Beautiful to behold, I lay in my bed, Watching, As words of thanksgiving poured out of my mouth from the most profound depth of my soul.
A year of dealing with goodbyes, Loneliness, Confusion and dread spiked my past. Leaving me with only one question: how long, Lord? As I thanked Him for each precious day, Each treasured breath, And each cherished memory I am taking with me.
There are always new beginnings, But how often do we forget, That new beginnings herald leaving the old, And stretching toward the new.
Stepping forward, The beginning vaporizes the old into sweeping recollections. With each step taken, A door closes that we see no more.
Our circle gets smaller. As we begin to climb. The price is high, but it is even higher if we don’t move.
So, I greet you this morning, In the middle of a pandemic that seems to have no end, From a world filled with hungry people who have barely enough to eat, From a world where immigrants are condemned to living in tents in freezing weather, And for wanting better homes, schooling, and yes, opportunities for their children, From a world flooded with conspiracies from left and right, A world where we have elevated ourselves upward as gods, Yet, we have no answers to what’s happening on our planet.
Could it be that a voice speaks to us from within that we fail to listen to?
Despite all that’s taking place, Despite my fears and doubts about man’s ability to get it right and do what needs to be done… I am thankful. Because God is faithful. He is still good.
I say all this to announce that my first baby (book baby) will enter the world on February 23rd. Yes, truly, I am thankful.
