The Armstrongs: Thankfulness abounds...

Maybe it's motherhood, maybe it's just a spiritual awakening...but over the last year or so I have become increasingly mindful of my thankfulness to God for his many blessings. There are the obvious blessings - I have a wonderful husband, a beautiful and sweet-spirited daughter, loving parents, inlaws, and sister, an amazing church family, etc. But there are also the blessings that I think I went too long without acknowledging - the blessing of God's protection being one of them.

Let me start by saying that I distinctly remember my Granny and my mother praying for angels to surround me and others in our family while I was growing up. I knew that they were lifting me often in prayer, praying that a hedge of protection would be about me wherever I went. So God's protection is something I have been familiar with for a while. However, I was able to attend our ladies morning Bible Study while I was out on maternity leave, and we studied the Psalms of Ascent. This study heightened my daily awareness of God's protection.

Psalm 124 starts with the words, "If the Lord had not been on our side..." I can't help but cringe at the thought of what my life might be "if the Lord hadn't been on my side", protecting and guiding my steps. I could fill in the blank with many scenarios, but here I will list only two: "If the Lord had not...I would have settled for less than the perfect husband He had for me." "If the Lord had not...Turner could have been hurt in the wreck I had before she was born."

Two recent experiences prompted me to post about this topic; they are explained below. Perhaps I'll continue to add to the list, whever things come to mind, as a testimony of God's grace and goodness!

Experience #1:
"If the Lord had not put a friend in my path after a Sunday School party last night, and we hadn't had a 3 minute conversation, I could have been involved in the wreck I saw last night on my way home."

Experience #2:
"If the Lord had not been on our side, Mark and I could certainly have been hurt in the Georgia Dome last week when the tornado touched down in Downtown Atlanta." It was honestly one of the most terrifying experiences (it really does sound like a train) and I can just imagine many Christian brothers' and sisters' guardian angels grabbing hands and surrounding the Georgia Dome to protect those inside. My mom shared that a family friend was so thankful the game went into overtime - if it had not, many people would have been outside the dome when the tornado struck. Here are a few pictures of the damage we observed on the way to the car - they are very dark but I'll try to explain them.

Insulation from the dome wrapped around a tree.