Hast thou not seen? (a Thanksgiving post)

You know the hymn Praise to the Lord, the Almighty? It's one of my favorites. And I think my favorite phrase is in verse 3:

"Hast thou not seen how thy desires ere have been

granted in what He ordaineth?"

And because Thanksgiving has me thinking a lot about this beautiful truth, here's my top ten "granted desires" list. 
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1. Growing up on the edge of a small Midwest town. Allowing much fort building, woods tromping, creek splashing, tree climbing, and rusty junk excavating for one little girl who came with a built in desire for all things adventure and outdoors. 

2. Living an empty lot away from a rickety, white-paint-peeling- off old house that had a constant flow of renters. Which perfectly met my desire for friends in the neighborhood (however sketchy they may have been). 

3. Church friends who owned horses and happily let me ride throughout the years. Satisfying my desire for all things horse in a farmland community where they were rare.

A terrifying fall off of one of these horses would lead us to discover I had serious scoliosis (at the perfect time in my physical growth when it could be corrected before it hindered me for life.) Amen?

4. The privilege to attend a young Christian college that was local church based. A thrilling meeting of my desires to learn Bible teaching and experience a wide variety of church ministries.

Notice the Greek room where all the magic and some unintentional heresy happened...

5. Being asked by missionary friends to come teach their children in Manila. Granting a long standing desire of mine to experience foreign missions and allowing for two years in South East Asia: a part of the world I love. 

6. Sitting across a desk at a Christian university and hearing "Welcome aboard, we're glad to offer you a GA position as you pursue your Masters in Counseling." Providing a rare opportunity for a debt free degree. And fulfilling my desire to "go farther" in education after two years abroad. (check out my aMAZing brothers who graduated with me!)

7. Watching God weave my four siblings (and their growing families) back into my life. Grown adults now, each pursuing a different life path, each converging for a year or more in the city where I live. Answering a rather unexpected but very real desire to draw on those dearest to me for support and love as I navigate my own course. 

8. Finding Beth-like homes in the last few years. (don't laugh! This is so important to me!) Satisfying my desire to live in "non cookie cutter" places where I can minister to others easily and comfortably crash at the end of the day. Proof that God delights to grant even the little desires. 

9. Praying "If this is the church you want me in, then would you do this, this, and this?" And seeing God answer those requests within 2 weeks of visiting my local church here. Granting my desire for a local body of believers that would become not only dear family to me, but also gentle, firm voices for good in my life. 

10. The fact that you are reading this. Fulfilling a recent desire to share on a larger platform what God is doing in my own life. 

Please, if you have a moment, tell me a few of your "granted desires" in the comment section below. I'd love to hear them! 

Beth