Sidewalk Conversations
"Let the one who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall..." (1 Corinthians 10:12)
Standing strong and remaining true to your calling is no easy task. No one sets out to crash and burn. In fact, it's actually the opposite, most people want to stand strong, remain effective, and be true to their values all the way through to the end. But, it is really hard to do.
In these interviews, Piet Van Waarde (a 40 year veteran of pastoral ministry) has heart-to-heart conversations with ordinary people about what it takes to stay faithful and effective in the things that matter most.
Sidewalk Conversations
Thankful In The Hard Things
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We explore how to give thanks honestly when life is hard, moving from forced positivity to authentic gratitude that survives suffering. A simple illustration of cleaning a corroded battery terminal reframes gratitude as digging for a real connection to grace. Have a happy Thanksgiving!
• the challenge of giving thanks in everything
• the difference between authentic and forced gratitude
• a multi‑tool and battery corrosion as a metaphor for digging
• the cancer journey opening unexpected relationships
• a connection leading to a film project about redemption
• God’s ability to redeem pain without causing it
• practical steps to find specific thanks in hard seasons
Happy Thanksgiving. And I um I want to share with you something that I've been pondering in this uh season where we're all kind of thinking through things that we're grateful for. And my mind has gone to a very familiar passage. You probably have heard it many, many times on days like this. And it's from 1 Thessalonians 5, 17, where it says, In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God for you. And um I I find myself always uh a little bit challenged by that verse, uh, because you know, and I've heard all the things about like it's in everything, not for everything. But even with that little clarification, I have to ask myself, like, can I really do that? So some of you know that in this last season I've been dealing with cancer. And when that diagnosis came, I can pretty frankly tell you that that was not something over which I could give thanks. I mean, or even in it to give thanks. And of course, along the way, now that I'm of that particular club, I have met many others who have suffered even a lot more than I have. And I've tried to find myself thinking, okay, what is it that we're supposed to do in situations like that? Like, how do we fulfill the passage out of 1 Thessalonians? What is it that that looks like? And, you know, a lot of times I've heard people say things like, well, you gotta fake it till you make it, and you know, just keep um saying thank you, and eventually you'll feel thanks. And and I get it, but there's something about that that just seems off. And so in this season, I've been saying, Lord, help me to see this in a way that allows me to give thanks authentically. And the the thought that occurred to me was that if it is true that in everything we can give thanks, then there must be something in everything for which we can authentically give thanks. Let me say that again. If it's God's will that in everything we give thanks, that means, because God wants us to be authentic worshipers, to worship from the heart, that means in everything there must be something for which we can authentically give thanks. And as I was thinking about this, I I came uh to an illustration that I've used in the past, but it just kind of had new like meaning for me now. And and that is that every now and again um I will have need of this little tool that I carry around in my pocket. It's one of those multi-tools that has like pliers and a file and a screwdriver and and a knife. And uh I carry this around because every once in a while I need it. And there was a particular occasion where my wife called me and she said the car wouldn't start. And so she said, Hey, can you can you come and look at the car? And I thought, yeah, sure. I don't know a thing about cars, but I'll come and try to help. And when I got there, I opened the hood and and I had one of those thoughts, like, I have no idea what I'm gonna do here. I'm not a car guy. But then I noticed that there was a battery terminal that had corrosion on it. And I thought, could it be this simple? Like, could I just scrape that corrosion off and get a better connection? And when I did so, it actually worked. And I felt like the Holy Spirit gave me this little impression in that moment, and that is Pete, don't forget this. And the thought that came to me was that sometimes you have to dig a bit in order to make the connection. Now, bringing that back to the passage that I just thought about, that in everything we can give thanks, and that if that's true, then there must be something in everything that we can authentically give thanks for. Sometimes that means we gotta dig it. We have to dig for it. And that brought me to this conclusion that I've been pondering for this particular holiday. Like, how do I give thanks in this Thanksgiving? And one of the things that occurred to me was that there were several people along the way that I would never have met had it not been for the cancer journey. Now, it just so happens that one of those relationships that I made along the way is a filmmaker. Now, this filmmaker is a person who I had an opportunity to introduce to a good friend of mine, Rebecca Contreras, who's written a book, and I've interviewed her here in the podcast, a book called Lost Girl, and she has a very amazing story. And I was able to connect those two people. Well, just last week I heard that the filmmaker was introduced to another producer who has now heard the story of Rebecca, who's going to create a mini-series around that story. An actual full-length mini-series around Lost Girl. And I I just found myself thinking, you know, if I hadn't had cancer, I would never have met David. If I had never met David, David probably would never have met Rebecca. And if they hadn't met, then that story I've just told would never have taken place. And what I have found myself thinking is I can genuinely give thanks in this situation because of that connection. Because I know that there's going to be something beautiful produced from that film. And who knows how many people will identify with the story and be able to find Christ as a result. Now, I'm not suggesting that the reason I got cancer was because God wanted to make that connection. I don't think he works that way. But I do think that he can redeem anything and everything. And if we're willing to dig a bit into our own story and into our own situations, then we will find that thing for which to give thanks. And so, yes, even this Thanksgiving, I find myself full of joy and gratitude for the good that God has done. And my encouragement to you is to do the same. Maybe you're finding yourself in a pretty difficult situation. Maybe the circumstances aren't easy. But perhaps God will give you the grace to dig a bit. And in the process of digging and asking and looking, God will show you something for which you can also authentically give thanks. And if you can, this day will be a very special day indeed. So, yes, happy Thanksgiving. And thank you for joining.
