Thankful In All Circumstances

Tuesday, November 2nd Thankful in All Circumstances Patricia Eastwood 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” When my daughter Dottie was about 7, my husband and I moved her from one school to another in October of the school year. The unusual mid-year move was deemed necessary by us because of some changes at the school that we found fundamentally at odds with our values. As one might imagine, the decision to move Dottie was not easy to explain to her, since she was so young. Regardless, she recognized our authority about the issue and coped with the change. She also was very upset about it for a long time. In turn, I felt guilty like mothers do even while convicted that it was the correct decision. Recently, I rediscovered an art project that Dottie created in November of the year she made the move to the new school. The teacher had asked all the children to handwrite a series of things they were thankful for and, then, they laid the writing over an image of a colorful harvest table. The result was a frameable display of “things I am thankful for” as expressed from the heart of a third grader. In the case of Dottie, it was expression from a broken hearted third grader, as she was still urgently missing her old school and friends. Yet, despite the undercurrent of sadness at that moment in her life, Dottie still managed to express gratefulness in a long, winding sentence . . . “I am thankful for rabbits, wind, doors, food, parents, teachers, flowers, computers, books, grandparents . . . “ Admiring Dottie’s handiwork over a decade later, I have thought about the timing of the project. I wonder if, while suffering loss and confusion in that moment, it was easy or difficult for Dottie to come up with the required expressions of gratefulness in order to fill the entire page – “I am thankful for birds, shoes, medicine, socks, trees, walls and a roof, candy, doctors, houses, water, dogs, balls, swimming pools, friends . . . “. Maybe it was easy – maybe it was just a matter of looking around the room and out the window. All I know is that I am inspired, today, by my sweet 7 year old’s art work to think about how many things I should be grateful for each day and to notice them, even when I am distracted by the turmoil of life. I intend not only to look for the blessings that are obvious shout outs to God, but also the smaller things that I don’t typically treat as “big enough” to acknowledge out loud – and, think about the fact that they exist only because of God’s love. I am thankful for McFlurries, sunsets, coffee, pillow top mattresses and college football. I am thankful for music, kisses from dogs, holding hands with my mom, sharing memories of my dad, calls from my kids and church services available online. I am thankful for friends, for inspiration from surprise places, my husband of 27 years, art, God-winks, angels that walk among us, the Gospel and the ability and freedom to read it. I am grateful that I was not run over by that bus that roared past me on Peachtree Street in 1992 when I was not paying attention and for the unnamed woman that yelled “Watch Out!” I am thankful for the doors that were opened to me and all the ones that God closed. I am grateful for the wisdom that comes with age. The scriptures say we should continuously give thanks – for the big things and for the little things – for all things; we are commanded to take notice in order to do it! “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 Dear Lord, Thank you for all of the blessings you have given to us so that we might enjoy life to the fullest. We are grateful that you attend to our needs and bring us so much to enjoy. Please help us to notice the big and little things in this world that you have created for us and to appreciate them fully. May we look through the eyes of a child as we examine the world and never become numb to your wonderful creation. Please forgive us of all of our sins, including those times that we miss being thankful in the moment. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen Reschedule Post Post Now

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