Squid’s Word

You knew it was going to happen somewhere. Someone was going to blog about what they are grateful for. You know, give you a list of things for which they are appreciative. 

Here’s my list; by no means exhaustive:

After 17 years, Gem still loves me. Our house (which would make George Bailey proud) Even though they are 7 & 8, pink pixie and jasmine still want to hold my hand.

Carseats. Coffee. Jasmine in a batman costume. (very funny). Pink pixie & monkey boy still want to sit on my lap. Our new baby who is almost here.

-my country…

-…and the men and women who defend it… The freedom I enjoy to write this post. My job. My extended family. The gifts and talents God gave me. My relationship with him. Friends.

Ugh!

I keep writing, and it occurs to me I’m thankful for it all. The good and the bad. I think one of the benefits of a list is to remind us, in specific ways,  about what we’ve been given and how we have been blessed.

Not a particularly deep or provocative thought, and I’m sure you already know that. And yet, we spend so much time focusing on the bad stuff.

Not that we shouldn’t but that’s only part of the picture. The tapestry of life is is an interwoven lattice of pain and joy. Good times and bad. Failures and successes. But you already know that too.

From Psalm 42:4–

These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng…

The Psalmist goes on:

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God…

I wonder if this guy ever made a list? I imagine he had to. My list has helped me to remember that things, as bad as they are sometimes, are still filled with moments of blessing. That the realistic picture is one of stress and pleasure. The colors of the tapestry are both gray and vivid.

And even in the face of suffering, loss, or failure, I am still the richest man in the world.

Squid