A Time to be Grateful!

By Kim Reed, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA 

I recently found several boxes of pictures that we had stored away while we moved internationally to serve in the mission field. Inside these boxes were -- yes -- old fashioned film pictures. They were the kind you send away to be developed while you wait in eager anticipation for them come back in the mail, so you can see your adventures. As my husband and I opened the dusty boxes, we had no idea of the gratitude that was to overwhelm us as we picked through the thousands of pictures. There were hundreds of pictures of our three children, in all their stages of life under our roof. We found hundreds more pictures we had taken in the many places around the world where we had lived and served in the full-time ministry. Alongside the kids, there were the many faces of so many wonderful people that came into our lives. Happy faces, hugging in the fellowship, eating together, playing together, worshipping together. I relived the many conferences and fellowship circles that we had been honored to be a part of. These beautiful people, who had shared their wisdom, support, love, and direction for life and ministry are among some of my most precious gifts I have received. It seemed unbelievable to me how much living of life was shown in all these pictures. 

Life seems long, yet it is fleeting, like a mist, as it says in James 4:14, “Why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” Yet even in our little time, while we find ourselves on earth, God powerfully works in our lives, even when things don’t seem easy. I’m finding that as life speeds by, it is so important to fill my life with gratitude. 

I have come to learn that we will all face hardships and struggles in our families and in our lives, even when we are trying our absolute best to do right and live the Christian life. Our family has seen its fair share of unjust situations, sins, addiction, persecutions, near-death experiences, job losses, and many moves. I have often wished and asked God to give me a “normal” life, a life without certain struggles. But sometimes life doesn’t turn out as we expect. As I reflected, while looking at all the pictures of all this living we’ve done in God’s kingdom, I realized even more how much there is to be grateful for. And as if that wasn’t enough, God provided us with a real miracle. 

Pray for a miracle! 

Several years ago, one of daughters was diagnosed with a terminal liver disease. We flew from Sweden to be with her during her final of battery of tests that would determine how long she could live without a liver transplant. The goal of the tests was to figure out where she should be placed on the national waiting list for liver donations. A liver transplant, even if successful, usually results in death after five years. Our daughter was also told that she would not be able to get pregnant. We could only trust God that he knew what he was doing. We asked everyone in our church family in the Nordics to pray for a miracle. This was the darkest hour of my life.  When we went to the consultation about the test results, the doctor paused, left the room to ask his assistant if he had the right files, then came back into the room and said, “I’m here to say…your latest scans and tests show no signs of liver disease! There is no disease and no need for a transplant.” 

We all were shocked. After this amazing news, we received a call that she was pregnant and that they were moving to be with us.  They had found out that they were having identical twin girls. Life can take such surprising turns! Now we have enjoyed fifteen months of having our grand babies in our house with our daughter’s family. Watching them grow and be healthy after all that had happened in the past is truly something I thought I would never see. 

     While visiting family in a small town I came across this small sign that I have hanging in my kitchen where I pass it many times each day. It says… “Gratitude turns what we have into enough!!!”

There is no straight forward life anywhere on earth. That’s why Jesus is my hero. It’s because of his life, example, and the eternal hope he provided for us that I can live a life of gratitude. I Peter 1: 3-7 says we have an inheritance waiting for us, even though we will go through trials of all kinds. I have learned to be grateful for what I have and not long for what I don’t have. There is no need to compare myself, my family, or my experiences with others, because each person “has enough trouble of their own.” 

I am learning to pause and to be grateful, turning what I have from God into enough!!! To take each day and breathe the air around me, to bask in God’s creation, to celebrate that I can give love and gratitude away every day to those around me. 

When you look over the photographs of your life seeing what God has done, may you also be filled with gratitude. 

About Kim Reed

Kimberly Reed has been a disciple since her University days. For a total of 20 years she has worked as a missionary in Stockholm, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark. She has helped the Nordic countries with leadership development and ministry. Kim has also had the privilege to serve in full-time ministry roles in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, and Denver, USA. She moved back from the mission field two and one half years ago and serves alongside her husband in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her twin grand babies and family live near them and they all enjoy the great outdoors and a wonderful church. She is often heard saying, ”I love my Utah life!”