Thankful in the Storms

I got up this morning with the intention to mow the back yard (at my grandparents' house... we've been housesitting for them for a week but they're coming home today!).  Then, when we were finishing breakfast, I heard thunder.  It's stormed nearly every morning for the last week!

I have Pandora on (it's kind of become an obsession... I love all the fun/inspiring music playing while I'm writing at home or working at the library), and a little while ago the song "Praise You in the Storm" came on. My life isn't really a "storm" right now, but it just made me smile because of the thunderstorm that was going on at the time.  (It's since quit... now I have no excuse to not go mow the lawn!)

The point is, it was little reminder that I can always be thankful, even when it might not make sense (thank you, God, for [insert really difficult thing here]).  It's been easy to be thankful for a lot of things-- the fact that my grandparents basically let us eat whatever we wanted out of the fridge and freezer, so I didn't have to buy groceries this week.  The wonderful friends and fantastic coworkers I have.  Time to rest and relax with my husband in the evenings.  The opportunity to witness and enjoy an incredibly beautiful wedding last weekend.

But I know that life isn't always made up of things for which it's easy to say "thank you."  We experience loss.  Grief.  Depression.  Financial difficulty.  The day-to-day stress which, when it piles up, seems too much to bear.  The sick child.  The loss of a job.  The death of a parent.  The move of a dear friend.

In those times, it's hard to be thankful.  I've had experiences of my own when I wondered, what good can possibly come from this?

Sometimes I've seen the good that has come from those times.  A lot of the time I don't... but I know that God always brings good even out of the worst things.  He promises that he will, so I can trust that.

It's not easy to trust in that, but that's why faith is a gift from God, not something I can produce on my own.

If you're in a valley right now, I just want you to know that God is there, too.  He has a plan--even if you don't know what it is--and he will bring about blessing through those trials, whether for you or someone else.

Evil has already lost in this world: Satan has been vanquished and Jesus has conquered.  Even the most horrible things are temporary.  Christ has died and risen, and is in heaven waiting to bring us to be with him in paradise for eternity.

When I can't see the good that could come from a situation, that's why I take comfort in: knowing that it's temporary, and ultimately, I have victory in Jesus.

I pray that you are encouraged by that knowledge today!

(P.S. The song that's playing now?  "Grace Like Rain.")

Linking today with: The Fontenot Four, black tag diaries, Uplifting Love, There's Just One Mommy, Graced Simplicity