“When the world shuts down — is exactly when our thanksgiving needs to rise up.”
That quote comes from Ann Voskamp, one of my very favorite authors. I came across her writing during a particularly difficult season in my life. It was full of hard decisions and hard relationships and a constant struggle to keep from getting a hard heart in the midst of it. Ann’s writings challenged me to take joy in the everyday wonders in my life and that in it I could cultivate a life of joy.
There is so much to be thankful for in this time of desperate pain and constant uncertainty. I have food in my pantry. My kids are healthy and able to work from home. I have running water to wash my hands 150 times a day. My husband and I are getting a lot of quality time together. I have listened to good music and great podcasts and really interesting webinars. I have had time to read good books and write endlessly in the pages of my journal. My parents are far away but I talk to them almost daily and they are healthy and have the things they need. And now spring has burst forth because no one told the flowers and the hummingbirds about social distancing and the whole world is bursting forth with color and fragrance and light. And beyond every bit of that I have a God who (incredibly) gave everything for a relationship with me. And He is faithful. In every way on every day, in spite of things I do not understand, He is faithful and can be trusted. He fills my days with more gifts than I can count should I stop and try to do so. So maybe it’s time to heed Ann’s words and in this time when our world is shut down, take some time to pay attention to the things we have to be thankful for. As a new school week begins will you challenge your kids to capture in photos what they are thankful for? In this time when there are so many things that our kids see us stressing about let’s help them find the everyday wonders that we can be so grateful for. Will you fill this post with pictures this week that remind us all to be thankful? It can be fun. You might be surprised at some of the things your family finds to be exceedingly thankful for. We could easily post more than 100. On a side note... I am enormously thankful for each of you! I love you fiercely!!