I’m sitting outside on this beautiful summer day, rehearsing my host script for the weekend while listening to and watching my kids play joyfully in a splash pad. I have such a feeling of thankfulness. I’m thanking God for my children, for the wonder of summer, for the beautiful sunshine, for the warmth of this season.
And then I get another perspective.
I can’t help but think of where we were just a couple of months ago in winter. I can’t say I was sitting watching my kids play and feeling a sense of immense thankfulness. Probably I was just surviving. Yet, back when it was 30 degrees below zero and the snowbanks were above our mailboxes, God was just as wonderful and gracious and giving.
It seems the lyric “praise you in the storm” is applicable to us about half of the year. But is it really such a storm? Those are thankful times also, while we’re waiting for the “better months.” Isn’t there goodness at any time and in any circumstance, regardless of the weather or, even bigger than that, regardless of circumstance?
Today I am thankful for summer, no doubt. But I’m thankful for so many bigger things, like our health, the fact that I have a family, God’s faithfulness and just merely the fact that he’s here at all times, even when I am prone to wander.
I’m challenged as both a mom and a daughter of the King to be thankful in all seasons.
I pray that when it’s the dead of winter and we’re experiencing our sixth snow day while being advised not to go outside for more than 30 seconds, I experience God‘s goodness, faithfulness, and steadfastness in real and meaningful ways.
