In Ephesians 5:20 we read these words from the apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus:

Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I worry about the smallest of things as well as the biggest of deals. Those smaller things can sure take up as much time as the big things though…

I waste time being worried about things that just don’t matter.

I don’t take enough time being thankful for the things I take for granted.

Have you ever thought about saying thank you to God for creating you to live where you live? To be born where you were born?

Sometimes that detail of your life can make a huge difference.

I live in the greatest state in the United States: Michigan. I live in the middle of it where we have snow but are not buried under it most winters. We have four seasons. We have humidity that comes and goes. We are surrounded by wonderful Great Lakes that are as beautiful as the oceans but are salt free. We have “big city” living and “country gal” rural options.

Our weather is moderate in its severity. We have had our tornados, ice storms, and floods…but, economically, we’ve been alright as a state- as far as I have seen anyhow.

We bought a camper about a decade ago and used the tar out of it for most of that time. As our children got older, the frequency of our camping adventures has gotten less and less.

I am sad to confess that we have not used our camper in two whole years. It sits in my driveway… empty but nowhere to go and no one to take it.

I worry about what we should do with it. I hate that it just sits there. I hate that we would never get “what we owe” for it…so it keeps sitting there unused.

My husband is in Buckhorn, Kentucky right now. In July of 2022, there was a rainstorm that caused a river to rise over 12 inches in 3 hours. That rushing rising water crushed towns in its path.

The high school in Buckhorn had water as high as its ceilings and is now destroyed from the aftermath. It is filled with mud, ruined desks and walls, rotten books.

My husband is there to help with Nazarene Compassion International. He is with a team of people to help out in one house for the weekend. One house.

They’ve laid subflooring and flooring in a kitchen and put in drywall.

He sends me pictures of what he is seeing and doing while there.

I asked him where the people are? Where did they go to live now that everything they own is completely gone? Where do the kids go to school? Where do they work to earn a living to repair the damage to their lives and put things back together??

He said many have left to live with families on the higher ground. Others live in campers at the campgrounds. The kids ride four hours on busses to get to and from school each day.

All because they were born and raised in Kentucky. They did nothing wrong but live there.

They are dependent on the help of neighbors, Christian organizations, and the government to clean up their communities.

They are helpless on their own.

And I have an unused camper in my driveway.

My heart aches for the mom of a senior in high school who didn’t get to play his senior year of varsity football for his high school team.

My heart aches for those who are so overwhelmed with where to start fixing this that they are paralyzed.

My heart aches for those who lost their wedding albums, their baby pictures, their pets, their favorite pair of jeans, their grandmother’s china dishes that they didn’t want in the first place…

Their grief must be so heavy.

But with help comes hope…and that is what I pray people like my husband are to them.

Our verse says to ALWAYS give thanks to God for everything .

I need to be thankful that I live in Michigan. I need to be thankful that our weather has been mild and that I don’t live near the water. I need to be thankful for what I’ve been blessed to be a steward over.

I need to learn what to do with the things I’ve been given: when to keep and when to let go. Thankfulness will help me with both sides.

We have so much to be thankful for. I pray we remember that and not take what we have been given for granted.