Rehearse the Good!

The Biblical story of the ten lepers healed by Jesus, with only one returning to thank Him, told in Luke 17:11-19, has been imprinted on me since childhood. As a result, one of my personal prayers as an adult has constantly been, “Lord, I don’t ever want you to find me ungrateful for what you’ve done in my life.”

I can’t give you the scientific data on this, but my own personal experience has shown me that we remember every single detail of a bad experience, but we could have ten positive experiences and forget every one of them. Why is that?

With that in mind, when my husband, Larry, and I married on June 6, 1980, I purposed in my heart to keep a list of “Things I’m Thankful for in ____ (and I inserted the month).” For the next six months, I typed up my list on a piece of paper and placed it on my refrigerator door where I’d see it every day.

I thought you might like to hear one story from my 1980 Thankful List:

As newlyweds, and with both of us in college, money was tight, and I was talking to God one day and said, “God, all I have is cheap, melamine (a type of hard plastic) plates to eat on. Would you please provide just one nice plate? We can alternate and each of us can use it on our birthdays. A-men.” A day or two later, one of my dear friends, a former missionary to Peru, came to my desk at work and asked me, “Ruth, could you use some dishes? If so, why don’t you come by my house after work today and see if you and Larry like what I have. Of course, we went, and came home not only with a complete 10-place setting of red, white, and blue centennial stoneware dishes (some of which we still use after 37 years of marriage), but a china teapot, and a gold-rimmed fine bone china teacup to start a special collection like my friend’s—every piece a constant reminder of our “Thankful” list, answered prayer, and Ephesians 3:20:

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (KJV).

At the end of our first year of marriage, I pulled out my six “Thankful” lists. I was stunned at the huge number of wonderful things God had done for us in those six months that I’d forgotten about. Recently, I read through these lists again, and they blessed me every bit as much as when I first experienced and recorded them. I’ve now resolved to begin keeping “Thankful” lists again.

Having homeschooled for 18 years, I know how precious “down” time is and how incredibly busy all our waking hours are. That being said, if you’re feeling spiritually sluggish, mentally and physically exhausted, and discouraged, I have the cure:

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of,

because you know those from who you learned it.

2 Timothy 3:14 (NIV)

In this passage, Timothy tells us to “Rehearse the things that we’ve been convinced of.” “Rehearse” means to repeat again and again until it’s part of us. So here’s my plan for carrying this out:

• Record – Write it down! It doesn’t have to be a dissertation; just record the main facts.

• Rehearse – Frequently read back over what you’ve written to remind yourself of how much God has done for you.

• Reflect – Meditate on God’s goodness when you read your lists and encourage others to do the same. Often, when you pull out your “Thankful” list and pause to remember, you feel like you’ve gone to church; it’s very encouraging and inspiring! Believe me; it never gets old. God has a way of making it feel like a fresh memory every time!

The amazing thing about “Thankful” lists are that, when you start focusing on what God has done for you, it feels so good that you begin paying more attention to the good in your life and, pretty soon, that’s almost all you see.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been conversing with someone and brought up this idea. They will almost always say, “I need to start doing that—looking at the positive—that’s a great idea!”

So, if you want a “cure” for the homeschooling blues and discouragement, start your own “Thankful” list! I can tell you from experience that it will change your life and the lives of those around you!

Ruth Sundeen has a B.S. degree in Biology, with a minor in Chemistry. Home-educating her own two children for 18 years, she decided to include other students in their high school science classes, including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Anatomy & Physiology. She added Physical Science to her portfolio, when she started teaching science in private Christian schools for the past two years; in addition, she tutors college physics and chemistry.

Ruth is passionate about teaching science from a special creation perspective, helping students develop a love of science, a strong grasp of the scientific evidence to support special creation, and the conviction that they can make a difference in the world we live in.

She was awarded the 2017 SchoolhouseTeachers.com Teacher of the Year for her Biology curriculum design. She and her husband, Larry, live in Abita Springs, Louisiana.