Thankful Thursday: and all was well with the world

Honest to goodness, hand on heart, until 5 seconds ago i was sure i didn't have a sermon for today. That changed once i typed the last word of the title. The World. A couple of days ago, it hit me that somewhere along the line, i stopped praying for the world.

Call it growing up and loosing your illusions of good and evil, call it loss of innocence or naivite, but i stopped praying for the world, because i made peace with the fact that the world, essentially, is not, will not be, and isn't even meant to be great. That's the whole point of Heaven and the afterlife, right? That this world is what it is, evil and unfair, and what will be will be, you can only live your part and enjoy what there is to enjoy. So i stopped praying for fairness and love and bad people turning good. I sad-smiled over that memory for sure. I seriously used to pray along the lines of, "And God, please let all the armed robbers change, let them see that they really do not have to hurt other people, provide for them and their families so they stay the hell away from evil."...I used to pray that. And then i stopped.

But then there's the Buddhist stuff i read, and their meditations and mantras involve "peace be on to the world, unto all the creatures, stones, trees..." you get my drift.

It made me pause, think, and re-evaluate. The next day after this situation, one of my daily devo's was about the little boy with the bread and fish and feeding the crowd. They put it so...thoughfully though, that this little boy had NO idea how the hell this cwazy man was gonna feed this stampede of people, but hey, he was the only one with food here, so he will give it. He will do his part, even if he has no idea how this stunt was going to work.

In the way that all things God involved work, this seemingly far fetched story spoke to the issue that was raised out of the blue for me. I stopped praying for the world because I decided that I didn't see the logic, I decided that it was futile. Stop. Rewind. What do i know? Did God ever, at any point tell me that i was my job to plan the party? All that is asked of me is to do my part. The rest, He will handle. Isn't that how prayer in general works? You just let Him know whats up, you put it out there. How it will come to pass is really none of your business after you do your part and say your prayer. All you know is that somehow, it will get handled.

And so i came to my conclusion. Even if i've been bitter, even if it defies my logic, i shall learn to pray for the world again. I will embrace the fact that it is not my business to figure out how it works, my business is to honestly care, to genuinely summon the love and concern that fuels wanting to pray for the world. To pray for happiness for one and all..Surely this is not a bad thing? The result is not/may not be in the format, or any of the formats i can imagine, it may not be here, or now, it may not in unicorns and rainbows and strawberry fields forever..It may just be in the life of one person..but we all know that the life of one person if often magnanimous enough to change the fate of millions..And so, i will learn to pray for the world again...

:-)

That being said, On to the Thankfulness!

It has gone full circle, and balance has been restored, i am right proper happy again, and all is well with the world! I had a great day today, and even in the midst of it, i realize that the reasons why i'm so happy today are as a result of what happened a week ago. Sometimes, you need to cry to see the light, you need to be sad so that whatever "it" is can snap and cause you to make crucial decisions that show their effects in ripples long after the moment has passed. I realize this.

I am thankful that even if i woke up er..2 hours later than my new "regime" requires me to, i was fifteen minutes early.

I am thankful that my bus came smack on time, and i didn't have to wait, or run to catch it...also, there were free seats...Yay!

I am thankful for the way my classes were today. Very grateful that they weren't in the order in which i mistook them. All the studying i didn't do yesterday, i did today during first snooze class, missing lecturer second class, and 20 minute break..oh, and during 10 minute walked out of class lecturer ^_^

I am thankful that last mentioned lecturer is truly awesome. We are very VERY lucky to have someone who knows what the hell he's on about, someone who genuinely cares that we get something into our thick skulls, and someone who has the patience to deal with us lot...

I am thankful for my Grandma..who truly cares about me..a tad too much sometimes..but it's okay :D

I am thankful for my grandpa and his jokes and his constant, very practical concern...he fixes EVERYTHING! talk about being useful :P

I am thankful for my friends...had the noicest time after classes today..and Nadia rawks for knowing how to twist people around her little finger for the benefit of me :D

I am thankful for sincerity and friendships without ulterior motives

I am thankful for Life and all the things that come along with it...it is such FUN

I am thankful for Him getting me through this week...it's a miracle everyday!

I am thankful for the way my mind opens up each day..Wisdom, insight, growth...the best things ever!

I am thankful for all these sites i stumble upon..abi that stumble upon me...They have the best material!

I am thankful for StumbleUpon, speaking of which...because it led me to MarcandAngel, which is a very VERY interesting blog

I am thankful for the Twilight Saga..and to think i was prepared to snob the life out of it...It is soooooo....lol read it...

I am thankful for the Twilight Saga again, because in some very odd..or not so odd way, i feel closer to S whenever i'm reading. Now, i realize that Edward is a friggin Superhero..but there's something about him and Bella and....most of the time i think, but that's kinda us right there! and yes, i've retracted my earlier sentiments about them being dysfunctional..it really does even out the farther you go along...

I am thankful for S..i cannot stop saying this. I am thankful for him several hours a day, everyday. I am thankful for the way i look forward to him...to seeing that i have a fb message in my inbox, to *cough* just knowing that he's there. It's very..it's a very good feeling to cayre about somebody.

I am thankful for fb, speaking of which! whatever would we do without it, hmm?

I am thankful for the way he makes me oh so happy, even when he does nothing at all :D

I am thankful for the way God just looks out for me all day, everyday

I am thankful for hot showers!

I am thankful for books unread

I am thankful that tomorrow is Friday and i have only two classes...can i get a witness!

I am thankful for youtube

I am thankful for Google! if you can't find it on Google, then PEBCAK! you ID10T! lol the nerdy things you pick up on the internets, yes?

I am thankful for jokes :)

I am thankful for languages...i will German accent you under the table meyyn

I am thankful for food! and ingredients that inspire :)

I am thankful for sugar!..even if i really should stop indulging

I am thankful for chillin out

I am thankful for the shower i'm going to have once i'm done typing this

I am thankful that i am so thoroughly blessed! You think you know, but you have NO idea :D

I am thankful for this communication thing Me and God have going..i am Thankful that He's answering this my prayer to understand Him, to be in tune with Him..nowadays, i can actually point to the reason why something happened...

I am thankful for spellcheck!

I am thankful that He sees to it that i am surrounded by material for growth..i do not lack!

I am thankful for old friends and old memories...me and M2 been trading "do you remember that time when.." jokes back and forth...I laugh myself to tears each time!

I am thankful that, from what i hear, i am able to make people feel better by hearing them out and encouraging/advising them..it's what i live for! Like the epiphany i had while talking to Vika...that's what Other People are in your life for. You may be the wisest person to crash land on this planet, but when YOU are involved in the situation, logic fails you and you are too biased to do what you know you should..which is why you need friends...and sometimes not friends to guide you through those moments...maybe that's why you don't always take your own advise..it's too hard to discipline yourself so..

I am thankful for my mommy!...and the fact that she rawks more than i ever will :D

I am thankful for my daddddyyy...and his advice..that i'm too thick to get until way after...

I am thankful for my amazing sisters, who's love astounds me each and every day

I am thankful for Love..for having it, for giving it, for seeing it all around me...

I am thankful for my bed...dear sweet bed and jumbo pillow!

I am thankful for forgiveness

I am thankful for intelligent, rational people

I am thankful for when people are caring in small ways...grand gestures tend to make me uneasy..and doubt their honesty, see...it takes a series of small gestures to validate the grand ones..if that makes sense..it's hard to pretend for the little things..but that's a whole other post...

I am thankful that Spring, my dears, is, albeit timidly, here...i felt it today..YAY!

I am Thankful that i'm alive, breathing, and able to live this life in a way that i hope, is at least slightly beyond the surface, slightly beyond the superficial..it is so much more fulfilling! and worth every seeming "sacrifice"

I am thankful that...we have this situation even if when i count the years i'm thinking...what tha? i can't survive that long without him! :(

I am thankful that God has His plans, and had them without my suggestions or advice...i am confident in the fact that He knows what He's doing..and He's never wrong or off point :)

I am Thankful for all the kind small talk that happened in the bus on my way home+the seat+the pleasantness of the wardrobe lady+her kids before i left school...

I am thankful and could keep on going like the energizer bunny meyn!

I am thankful for anger management!

I am thankful for the Bible and all the wisdom within

I pray for you guys then, to seek the good, and turn a blind eye to the bad. When you look with the intent of seeing happiness and joy, you will find it. And you will also find despair if that's what you're shopping for..it's that easy :)

Be happy and seek wisdom for all you're worth...the Peace that comes with it is astounding!

Mwaaah!