Scripture: Psalm 95:1-7 (NRSV)
DEVOTIONAL:
Each morning, my husband Ken and I face each other with outstretched arms and greet the new day with thankfulness. We began this little ritual after walking through the valley of the shadow of death last summer. In that walk we learned that gratitude is the bedrock of faith.
For those readers who are unfamiliar with Ken’s story: Last spring he was a strong and healthy high school physics teacher who climbed stairs two at a time and played racquetball twice a week. But he began to experience increasingly irregular heartbeats. He was hospitalized four times in the month of May while doctors struggled to find a diagnosis.
In Indianapolis, a heart biopsy revealed a rare autoimmune disease. Ken’s immune system was attacking and destroying his own heart, probably in response to a virus. The damage was so severe that he was rushed to surgery to install two “ventricular assist devices.” They rested on Ken’s abdomen and pumped his blood while we waited for a heart transplant.
The two months that we spent in Indianapolis were surreal. Hospital life swirled around us. Past and future grew dim. Prayers, songs and Scripture tethered us to God, who provided more than we could expect or imagine. Our Caring Bridge blog tethered us to friends and family through the ups and downs of the journey.
Now, while a new normal is unfolding at home, we are profoundly thankful for restored life. Join us in making a joyful noise to God this Thanksgiving Day!
Scripture: Psalm 95:1-7 (NRSV)
O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.
5The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
6O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice!