JUST A BAND-AID

Each of us have had wonderful things occur in our lives, when we want to leap for joy and shout praise at the top of our lungs. Maybe it was the time your husband came home from work with news of a big promotion and raise to match. Perhaps after years of hoping, the test came back positive and it was time to start painting the nursery. It could be signing the papers on your dream house, watching your grandchild do amazing things that you thought were disgusting when your son or daughter did them, a new car, earning a degree or any number of things that make your heart sing for joy. You open up the Word of God and read in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” You are convinced, God is good, His will is full of blessing and you give thanks.

Now we fast forward to an event that drives you to your knees; your husband loses his job, your hopes are shattered and there will be no baby to fill your empty arms, maybe the house is repossessed, the car is totaled or your child has once again broken your heart. You open the Word of God and read in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Are you still convinced that God is good, can you trust that “all things work for good,” do you still give thanks?

Sunday marked the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. As I watched the 2001 live footage of the towers in flames, people jumping out of windows and heard the stories repeated of heroic acts of bravery, I was instantly transported back to the very moment I learned of the attack. The forgotten memories of horror and grief came flooding back as the tears stream down my face. The names of the thousands that lost their life that day included, without discrimination, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, friends, ministers, secretaries, CEO’s, firefighters, policemen and caring citizens. Could anyone find comfort in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you?”  Did God still care; if so, where was He; how could any good come from such a hate-filled act, could we still give thanks?

Among the fascinating stories told of that Tuesday morning in September, are the tales of “If not for the Grace of God.” For one person, a car wouldn’t start, another arrived at the corner just as the taxi pulled away, yet another was held up in a traffic jam caused by an auto accident, an alarm clock did not go off, the phone rang just as she opened the door; were they just “lucky” or are these everyday happenings that we never think about unless a tragedy of 9/11 proportions occurs? The story that impacted me this morning was that of a man that had put on a new pair of shoes. As he walked toward the World Trade Center, he realized a blister was forming and he stopped at a drug store to purchase a Band-Aid. Yes, an aggravating blister and the need for a band-aid saved his life that day. I’m sure if this man opened his bible and read 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you,” he suddenly had a clear understanding of its meaning and he gave thanks.

Never again will I grumble at the slow car on the highway in front of me or the traffic light that turns red just as I approach; I will breathe a prayer of thanks when the phone rings at an inconvenient time or I get behind the coupon queen in the grocery line. You and I will probably never know the times we have been saved by the things we viewed as a nuisance. Dear God, please remind me when I start to complain about being late that your Word tells me “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”