With a Grateful Heart...Guest Blogger: My friend Karen

Thanksgiving Tributes


So often, we think of faith as our own personal thing—an individual thing. In some ways it is; I certainly cannot save anyone else, and there is much of my Christian life that is between me and God alone. But sometimes, especially in our American “rugged individualism” cultural mindset, we forget that we are made to live in community. We are one body in Christ. We are commanded not only to pray for one another n\but also to rebuke, encourage, rejoice with, and bear the burdens of one another. When my own faith is faltering, I can be carried along by another; I can “borrow” a little of his or her faith for myself.
So here are a few shout outs to those whose faith I have been borrowing of late. To protect privacy, since I don't know how much of your personal stories you want shared, I will use only first names, and I will include no blog links. But God knows who you are, and I pray He will bless each of you.
I'll start with Laurel. Oh, how I admire your faith! You cling to the Lord in the face of heartache I cannot even imagine. And you encourage me—after all, if you can trust God through the loss of four children, I can certainly trust Him with my uncertainties! In the quietness of your own heart, perhaps you do wrestle with Him, and that's okay. But I know you always return to hope and faith and trust, and I love you for that.

Jess—how I love your vibrant, sparkling personality. How I enjoy your delightful humor. Even more, how I love and even need your honesty before the Lord. You share your hurts, your struggles, your questions and doubts, as well as your mountaintops. Yet you always land back at the incredible love and unending grace Jesus gives. You remind of deep, profound truths that I so easily forget. You speak to my heart. I come away refreshed in Him.

TJ, sometimes I think you are wise beyond your years. You too remind of God's truths. You remind me of His goodness and grace. You remind me to keep on believing and trusting and looking to Him. And you've loved me through some pretty unlovable times.

And to Tara, how often have you listened to me vent? How often have you heard my secrets? You are the sister I never had, and I thank God for you.

Jillian—you too are authentic and transparent. I love seeing how God is using you. You are truly a blessing.

Sarah, you remind me of what “childlike faith” really looks like.

And for our wonderful local church body as a whole—you have loved us, supported us, provided for us, been God's hands and feet to us. Thank you for your amazing love, grace, compassion, and generosity. We are truly blessed.

There are so many others I could list—Merry, Allyson, Samantha, Hugh Angela, Rebecca, Celeste, to name only a very, very few—but you get the idea. I am not an island unto myself, and my faith is not solely my own. It is bolstered by and entangled with so many others'. And I thank God for all of you.

Karen Butterworth is a wife, mother of 2, homemaker, and homeschooler in East Tennessee. She has aspirations of also being a successful businesswoman one day, but that one is still a work in progress! She blogs about family, life, and other random stuff at Pancake Chronicles http://tnbutterworths.blogspot.com/ She blogs about skin care, makeup, and other random stuff at Healthy, Radiant Skin from the Inside Out http://karen-pinkgreen.blogspot.com/