Sunday Mornin' Hope : I'm thankful for you!

by Psalmist November 21st 2015, 4:46 pm

2 Samuel 22:50

"Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the nations, And I will sing praises to Your name.

As we approach this fantastic time of year, we realize there is so much to be thankful for. The kindness of strangers when your bike breaks down by the side of the road can be a big thanksgiving. As I throw another oak log on the fire, let me share an experience on my way to Sturgis. Grab a Coke or a glass of hot cider and relax.

Last summer some friends and I made our yearly pilgrimage to 'mecca' for the Sturgis Rally. To save major bucks, I contacted several churches along the way. If we could camp in their parking lots this would amount to hundreds of dollars. We were going to be out eleven days. 11x$50=too much. We rode across Kansas to Colorado Springs, down to the Grand Canyon, across to a Navajo tribe in New Mexico, up to Craig, Colorado, over to Gillette, Wyoming for a church/bike blessing, then on to Sturgis/Rapid City. From there we would ride east to Huron, SD, south to St. Joseph, MO, and finally home to Fort Smith, AR. 4077 miles in almost two weeks time was the ride of a lifetime for me. My son Judah (13) was my copilot for the duration.

I had the newest gps, so I became the leader. We still got lost quite a few times. Getting closer to our church destination in Rapid City, I noticed I must've made a giant error in the destination. We were looking for a large church but were in a small house neighborhood. So we rode out to a O'Reilly store for help. After some time of jotting down lefts and rights, we headed back into the streets and twisties to find the church. Again we were nowhere! I had gotten us lost twice and it was getting late. Frustrated in a small neighborhood I looked over my maps and gps for help. The other guys waited patiently for me to think of what next to do. I sat on my bike and just prayed for God to show us where to go. I was exhausted and clueless. Then a young lady (in her 20's) rode her trike up next to me and asked if she could help. What an answer to prayer she was. She said she knew just where that church was. I had forgotten that the address was "north" and not south in the numbers. 1223 N. Summit is not near 1223 S. Summit. She asked us to wait for her to get her car and she'd take us there. Waiting was no problem. We were lost. She came back and led us thru a half hour of jigs, jogs and jags across Rapid City, South Dakota. When we got to the church, we all thanked her and gave her hugs. I said "I'm so thankful for you! You are an answer to prayer. We were so lost, and you took the time to help us out!" She said "Well, you were an answer to prayer too! My husband just left me today. I was on the living room floor crying out to God 'WHAT NEXT?' when you rode up in front of my house." We all started laughing and realized God has perfect timing and quite a sense of humor.. We prayed for each other and exchanged phone numbers so we could pray for each other. That was one of our highlights of the trip. Just seeing how God orchestrates our lives and there's no coincidences in our days. I am so thankful to Jesus for letting me experience these events on our bike trips.

I just got off the phone with Amy from Rapid City. Her husband still hasn't come home yet, but she hasn't given up. We prayed for him to return. We also prayed for this cancer to be annihilated that I've been battling.

Colossians 1:3
We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

Have a fantastic thankful week. Give thanks for ALL you've been given. Look for opportunities to help others out. I'm praying for you.