Thankful for … well lots of things

This past Labor Day Weekend we went camping with some friends of ours at Governor Dodge State Park in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. Over the course of the four day weekend God brought to my mind many things that I have to be thankful for. So many of these are insignificant things that I normally take for granted, but, as I became more aware of them, I was able to appreciate God’s tender care and provision for us.

We are simple campers so we still sleep in a tent and cook over the campfire with a tripod. While that is enjoyable for a weekend, it helped to “re-awaken” my appreciation for my soft (and dry) bed, my relatively clean floors (at least there’s no piles of dirt and camp debris that stick to your feet before you get into bed), for my stove and microwave as well as cupboards filled with clean dishes and a dishwasher to wash the ones that are dirty. That same tent helped my son Austin to appreciate the sturdiness of the exterior walls of our house, which keep hungry raccoons at a safe distance. (He was sure that they were man eating raccoons.) Though God blessed us to be close to the bathrooms, I was reminded how blessed we are to only have to walk 15 feet from my bed (in the middle of the night) to the bathroom (and without having to put on extra clothes and shoes). So while we enjoyed the “camping experience” it did serve to help us be really thankful for the “non-camping convenience” of home.

Other things that God blessed us with were opportunities to appreciate the beauty of His creation and His kindness in sharing it with us. We hiked all over the trails of Governor Dodge State Park and saw such wonderful things as a waterfall, a springhouse, quiet forests, and open plains with tall grass waving in the breeze. We met with curious raccoons and ground squirrels. We saw hundreds of hawks circling above the trees all at the same time and even a bald eagle. We found empty snail shells and really cool rocks. We found a dry rock river bed that wound down through a forest complete with small wood plank bridges to cross over by… which called forth fantastic imaginings of the possible story book trolls that could be living underneath those same bridges.

For that matter, we were reminded of how blessed we are to be able to walk all over the hills and valleys (at our leisure) and see all these vistas which are inaccessible to people in wheelchairs or who are limited by physical ailments or frailties. As we ran around the playground playing tag with our boys, I was reminded how blessed we are to be fit enough to run and jump and play with them. (Ryan can even outrun them all still!) As we explored a metal sculpture “art junkyard”, I was thankful that God made us in His image to be creative thinkers and to turn raw materials into objects of beauty. But mostly I was just thankful that God would open my eyes to see these things and more.

Late one night while lying in “bed” (I use the word loosely when referring to the temperamental air mattress we slept on), I was reminded that for me to truly appreciate the glories and gifts of God, Jesus had to die. It seems like such an extreme event that had to take place (the death of Christ on behalf of sinners) in order to bring about something that should be so natural and unfettered (that is the praise and adoration of God) and it is all because of sin (my sin and the sin of Adam & Eve). I would be blinded to the wonders of God’s beauties as He has displayed them through creation if it weren’t for the work of the Spirit in bringing the gospel alive in my heart. And thinking on the life and death and resurrection of Jesus made me appreciate all the more, the amazing person of God as well as His plans for me. So in turn, I was able to appreciate better, all the things that I already mentioned as well as a hundred other things that I don't have time to speak of. And so, it was a good weekend and a weekend of praise to God through Christ Jesus. To God be the glory.