Giving Thanks

I admit, sad but true, that I am mentally and emotionally affected by gloomy weather.  Today dawned— barely— under a heavy blanket of fog.  The fog has persisted throughout the morning and into the afternoon, with brief periods of thunder, lightning, a peek of sunshine, and a return of heavy cloud cover.  Ugh.  Peel me off the couch.  Add to this the discovery this morning that our coffee maker has died, (It's only a year old— engineered obsolescence, anyone?) and the temptation to go back to bed is almost overwhelming.
So, yes, due to my over-dependence on external stimulation, and its absence today, I feel like a slug.

"...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Instead of counting my miseries, which are jumping up and down and hogging my limited attention at the moment, I'll count my blessings:


1. The sweet smile Isaac gave me this morning when I picked him up from his friend's house.


2. The funny and adorable little birds crowding around the feeder on the back porch.  Is there anything as cute as a Tufted Titmouse?


3. Erin and Kate's laughter as they watch a funny play on TV.


4. The deep reverberating purr of my sweet Milo cat.


But wait, looking closer at this verse, I may be missing the point.  Giving thanks for the variety of blessings around me is, of course, a good and grateful thing to do.  Yet this is saying that it is God's will that I give thanks in all things, not in spite of the gloomy things.

"...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

Oh.  


Give thanks in the gloomy weather.  For the gloomy weather?

"Shall we received good from God, and shall we not receive fog?" Job 2:10

(Okay, I took a slight liberty with that verse, but that's how it applies to me today.)


Alright, here goes.


1. Thank you for the opportunity to stay indoors and get some long-neglected projects finished.


2. um...


Come on— shake it off— think!


2. Thank you Lord, for exposing my weaknesses that I might bring them before you in confession and repentance.


3. Thank you that this fog outdoors does not impede my prayers from reaching Your listening ears.


4. Thank you that your daily new mercies are not dampened by fog or rain or gloom, but are as brightly shining from one day to the next.


5. Thank you for the darkness that overshadowed a hill outside of Jerusalem over two thousand years ago, as Your Son, my Savior, carried my sins as far from me as the East is from the West.


6. Thank you that this gloomy day shows in stark contrast the glory and brightness of the eternal home which Christ my Lord has gone before to prepare for me.


And yes, thank You as well for all the incidental blessings with which you surround me in the meantime, which pull my thoughts higher out of the gloom, if only momentarily; like smiles, laughter, purring cats, and Tufted Titmice.