By Doug Creamer
Thankful Even When…
I am so thankful for the cooler weather. I worked outside over the weekend and enjoyed the pleasant temperatures. Fall brings many tasks that must be done. It helps when the weather is cooler to get all that work done. I cleaned up some of the vegetable beds. I still have a couple of tomato plants that are giving me some tasty tomatoes. I also have sweet potato vines that have taken over a couple of the beds. I am expecting a big sweet potato harvest.
I have been working on getting the weeds under control, too. I plan to work on them some more this week. The garden was productive this year for both good things to eat and weeds. It is one of those eternal battles for gardeners.
I am planning to head to the garden center this afternoon to find some violas. It is time to replace the summer flowers. In recent years we have started buying fewer pansies and chosen to go with violas. They seem to hold up better over the winter and recover quicker after storms. Violas help us make it through winter with their beauty.
I also like to plant some spring bulbs in the fall. It is fun to watch for them as they pop through the soil and bloom in the spring. They help to give us something to anticipate on those cold winter days. When winter’s doldrums start to get us down we go out and check the progress on the bulbs and look at all the violas blooming.
It is easy to be thankful in spring when you watch Mother Nature awake after a long winter’s nap. It is easy to be thankful when you are enjoying some fresh corn on the cob and a tomato sandwich. It is easy to be thankful when you see the beauty of fall spread across the mountains. It is easy to be thankful when you are sitting in a warm house watching snowflakes fall from a winter sky. It is easy to be thankful when life is moving smoothly and troubles and problems are nowhere to be found.
Are you thankful when life is not going as planned? When you have to go to the hospital instead of the park, are you thankful? When you are struggling with pain, are you thankful? When your bank account will not cover your bills, are you thankful? When your car and house need repairs, are you thankful?
When life gives us bumps and bruises it is naturally more difficult to give God thanks and praise. We often find ourselves saying, “Where are you, God? Help us, God!” The truth is we can’t feel Him because we are being held tightly in His arms. We can’t see Him because He has hidden us in His robes. It is often more difficult to find God during difficult moments because we are focused on our circumstances.
Peter shows us what happens when we take our eyes off Jesus. He was the only disciple brave enough to step out of the boat onto the water. Peter walked on water! You know that’s impossible, right? Then Peter got distracted and started to look at His circumstances. The waves were rough. The wind was blowing. It was raining. He looked down at the water and realized that he can’t walk on water. Then he sank. When he took his eyes off Jesus and put them on his circumstances; that’s when he sank.
We have to keep our eyes on Jesus in spite of our circumstances. We need to thank and praise Him for all He has done. He has forgiven our sins and is preparing a place for us in heaven. He gives us hope in the midst of our circumstances. He meets our daily needs. He comforts us. He heals our sicknesses. He gives us a place to call home. He gives us a church family to stand with us. He comforts us through our circumstances.
I hope I gave you a place to begin thanking God. I want to encourage you to thank and praise God even in the difficult moments of life. My Pastor teaches us that if we praise God in the difficult moments they are considered a sacrifice of praise. It touches God’s heart in a special way. It is easy to trust when things are going well, but can we trust God in the tough times? Do we believe that He is faithful? I promise that He will be there for you to carry you through the storms of life. So count your blessings every day in every circumstance.
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
