Psalm 100

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

    Worship the Lord with gladness;

    come before him with joyful songs.

 

Know that the Lord is God.

    It is he who made us, and we are his;

    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

    and his courts with praise;

    give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100 is one of the passages I can remember from my elementary school days of memorizing Scripture. This morning I read it from The Message:

 On your feet now—applaud God!

    Bring a gift of laughter,

    sing yourselves into his presence.

Know this: God is God, and God, God.

    He made us; we didn’t make him.

    We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.

Enter with the password: “Thank you!”

    Make yourselves at home, talking praise.

    Thank him. Worship him.

For God is sheer beauty,

    all-generous in love,

    loyal always and ever.

One phrase jumped out at me: Enter with the password: "Thank you!"

One habit that I picked up during the almost 3 months I was in the NICU with Victor, was to silently breathe, "Thank you" to God as I put my head on my pillow at night. By that time of day I was mentally and emotionally exhausted. I was alone yet I lived in a fishbowl with nurses always around us during my daily watch with Victor. I tried to update the many friends and family and caring strangers who were now following our story. When evening came, I was ready for bed but I knew who deserved the thanks for the day. He had kept Victor alive for one more day. He had given me everything that I needed to survive alone for another twenty-four hours. I knew that He alone had carried me.

This is a practice that I continue to this day and one that I hope I continue until the day I can tell Him face-to-face, "Thank you." Thank you for sustaining me. Thank you for being by my side. Thank you for the many blessings. Thank you for your strength when I couldn't go on alone.

Making myself at home. Talking praise and worshipping Him.

Thank you.