Thanking God for His Goodness

Some things are easy to thank God for. For example, it has been wonderful to sleep in the same bed--my own bed--for the past 2 weeks plus!  And walks around the Compound have been a joy. (Today I discovered a plastic bag of white ants being dried in the sun!) For me, it has been great to bake cookies and create a pizza version on pita bread, have visitors in for dinner and serve our famed banana bread to Ugandan friends. Being back in our church and gathering with fellow missionaries have been special treats missed during our absence…to name a few.

However, there are other happenings that take more conscious effort to truly thank the Lord for. Case in point was this past Saturday. While on our way home from the Puppet Practice, our driver, Fred, noticed a “different” noise under the hood. We were not in heavy traffic and he was able to pull the car over to inspect; a rapidly fraying charging belt was the culprit.  Since the belt was still intact, Fred decided to try to drive to a mechanic we’ve dealt with before—we made it! Although busy with many jobs, a mechanic was assigned to us. After removing it he went off to find a replacement; I’ve been here long enough to know that finding a replacement part is often not simple! However, he soon returned and installed the belt. Fortunately I had enough cash to pay for the job.

As I mulled all this in my mind while traveling back home, my heart filled with praise for God’s goodness and faithfulness. The timing was so good—if it had happened on the way to the Puppet Practice, the time for preparing for upcoming puppet presentations would have been severely affected. Then, Fred was driving—he doesn’t often drive on Saturdays but due to other circumstances, he did. And if the belt had frayed the following day, Sunday (when I was the driver), it would have meant Ruth and I being stranded on the way to or from Church; we wouldn’t have been as “calmly decisive” as Fred (understatement!).

As we traveled back home, I recalled a verse we had read together earlier during the Puppet Practice—Psalm 50:23, “Giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.”