Grateful, Thankful & Blessed

Since last Thanksgiving, so many incredible things have happened in our family - Lauren’s Sweet Sixteen birthday (Nov); Will & Kate’s wedding (Dec) and first year of marriage; Annie’s first birthday (Dec); Emma’s birth (Feb) and the NICU journey for her, Catherine & Paul; Julie’s and I’s 32nd anniversary (April); Emily and William’s engagement (July).

Because we have so many things to be thankful for, it’s overwhelming to make an attempt to try to put words around all of them. One thing that does keep coming to mind for me this Thanksgiving season is a common denominator amongst all of these - God’s involvement in the details of our lives. All of life’s great moments like these involve prayer at some level on our part and then a reliance on God to work out the details.

When we think of the nature of God, we typically get a mental picture of something vast like a mountaintop or an ocean. He seems so big to us because He created everything and stands sovereign over it all. Because of this imagery, we may sometimes forget that He is also in the details of our lives. We have to remind ourselves of this even though he shows us over and over again.

It’s easy to fall into a mindset that God may be too busy or unavailable to bother him with such things. How could a God so vast and sovereign over so much be interested in all of the elements of our daily lives. When we fall into this line of thinking, we have to remember that:

It’s because of His vastness, not in spite of it, that He is a God of details.

Scripture tells us this as well:

Psalm 37:23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

As we remember the many things that we are all thankful for this year, let’s also remember that we can be thankful for the fact that our God delights in the details of our lives and that we can go to Him with any request - great or small. I love each of you and am so thankful for you!

Grateful, thankful & blessed,

Big E