Last Sunday at church my pastor, aka Mr. Gorgeous, told the story of the Pilgrims. He told about the horrible famine and lack of resources that they experienced. In fact, at one time the situation became so critical that food was strictly rationed. For a brief period of time, every person in the colony was restricted to five kernels of corn per day. FIVE KERNELS… Can you imagine living on five kernels of corn a day? I cannot.

As things continued with the terrible drought, the Pilgrims gathered for prayer. They prayed and prayed and begged God for rain. He answered and gave them two weeks of consistent, gentle rain. The crops were revived and the harvest was plentiful. They gathered for a feast to thank God for His bountiful provision. As they sat to eat their meal, someone placed five kernels of corn at each place setting to remind them of how very far God had brought them.

Before John preached, he gave each of us a small plastic container holding five small kernels of corn to remind us of the journey of our relationship with God.

Five kernels.

I have to confess that I often look at the blessings and the things that He has given me and I forget how far He has brought me. I forget the journey.

There are times that I look at my life and I think about the things that we haven’t done or haven’t done well enough. You know, we should have more in savings than we do, our retirement fund should be larger, we should be able to do more to help those around us. And even though all of those things may be true, I need to see the journey — I need to thank God and acknowledge Him for how very far He has brought us. I need to be thankful for the travel from point A to point B.

What did we learn from the journey? We learned that choices today have consequences tomorrow. We learned that it really is best to pay up front — whether it be financially or with work and effort. We learned that following God’s plan takes us to places and provides us with blessings we could never imagine — even if the journey isn’t always the most pleasant. We’ve learned that the journey is something to be grateful for.

I’m thankful for being the youngest of four: for two precious older sisters — as different as night and day — and an amazing big brother with whom I fought and who I miss terribly. I’m thankful for five parents — Mom, Dad, Momma (2nd mom), Mom-in-Law, and Father-in-Law — and numerous adopted parents who thought I was worth loving and investing in. I’m grateful for the love of a Godly man who welcomed me into his life and heart and made me his wife. I’m thankful for three sons, a daughter in heaven, and a daughter-in-love who are all amazing, gifted people. I’m grateful for nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and in-laws (and a few out-laws — smile). I’m grateful for work: store clerk. janitor, legal secretary, corporate writer, recreation director, day care worker, pastor, teacher, and now an insurance claims processor. I’m grateful for friends and former students and neighbors and houses and beds and clothes and shoes and dishwashers. And I’m blessed by so much more than just these things.

Most of all, I’m blessed by the journey to reach, to achieve, and to gain. Journeys teach us and help us to become who God has called us to be.

Five kernels in a small plastic jar — I have one in the living room, one in our office, one on my nightstand, and one on my desk at work.

You may wonder why they seem to be everywhere.

It’s because I never want to forget how far God has brought me . . . and I want to remember that I still have miles to go.