A Life in Exile

The psalmist says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1 NIV). As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States and as this year draws to an end, I want to give thanks to the Lord. I cannot always look back on a year and say, “It’s been good,” but the year 2024 has been an exceptionally good year in my life.

Good in the spacious place.

Over the past few years, I began to let go of things over which I carried the weight of responsibility. Some related to Christian service and others related to the earthly kind. It was during those years that God gave me this passage from his Word.

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he pulled me out of deep water. He rescued me from my powerful enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out to a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. (Psalm 18:16-19 CSB)

Navigating life can be a challenge and as the years progressed following the death of my husband in 2015, I found myself floundering in some deep waters. This is why this psalm spoke so to my heart, and I began to realize the Lord was giving me permission to come out from under and gain new margin to move forward for a new season of life and service. This year of 2024 has been the first complete year of walking in that spacious place, and as the psalmist continues, I found he broadened the path beneath me so that my ankles would not turn. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and has enabled me to stand on the heights of new opportunities.

I am thankful.

Good in the good works he’s prepared in advance for me.

It’s not like I just stopped moving or doing or serving, but I chose in this year to be mindful to wait on him and let him guide my way. What happened? Several things:

• He brought people into my life to build me up.

I’ve had some beautiful visitors this year, almost all of them unexpected! I’ve learned that unexpected is good because you don’t fret over having to prepare for them in advance. They’re passing through town or text me the day before that they want to come by. I’m retired, so “welcome” is my go-to response. I’m never disappointed by those God brings my way.

• He allowed me to pour into others.

Being less “busy” with life has allowed me to be intentional about listening to others. I’ve also found that he’s the one who sets up divine appointments and puts me in the place to have a conversation with someone who needs encouragement or counsel. As an introvert, I realized that I need to make sure I’m not isolating myself from people, and in this discovery, I have seen him setting up these “good works” that often look like a recorded prayer, a text conversation, a trip to a hurting friend hundreds of miles away, and even leading a women’s retreat.

The “good works” he has prepared for me may look very different from those he sets up for you, but I can tell you I am so thankful for each one I’ve had this year. They are God moments in my life, and I’m so grateful that he still wants to use me in the lives of others.

Good in the serendipitous blessings of this year.

I NEVER imagined when I wrote in my journal on January 1, 2024, that this year would be so full of blessings, but God has outdone himself in my life.

The first comes with my writing ministry. Most of you know that I’ve been writing for over thirty years, and as I moved into retirement, this was the area where I wanted to focus my attention. I never dreamed that in my first full year of the spacious place I would have two books published and a third accepted by a publisher to come out in 2025. This was overwhelming, and I remember the day I heard from the second publisher, I had to call my sons and ask them if I was really hearing this right.

I don’t write to make money but for the purpose of promoting missions and glorifying the Lord. It’s not to say I don’t have some “lighter” projects in the works, but I did want my writing to make a difference, and I’m so grateful that the Lord has opened some new doors in this last year to make that possible. I’m thankful.

The second comes with my family. Already blessed with one beautiful granddaughter, the Lord has multiplied my joy in 2024 by seeing two new grandchildren born into our family. As with my books, the gift of two babies in one year is overwhelmingly generous from the Lord, and I’m so thankful for his goodness to me, my sons, and their wives and extended family.

All my life God has been faithful, as the song says, so I will sing and speak and write about the goodness of God. I am thankful for this special year of blessing and give him all the thanks, praise, and glory. I pray you have much to be thankful for in 2024. His goodness is running after us. Give him everything.

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Wednesday Wisdom, click HERE, or check out these other posts on gratitude: Thanksgiving: Ivory Coast, Grateful Memories, Thankful for the Hard Places, Are You Still Grateful? and How Can I Say Thanks?