Picture This

The verses for this week's Providence 365 project are I Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, in every thing give thanks . . ." I hope that I'll be able to adequately represent them Saturday in pictures on a digital page. In the meantime, I've been considering a few things that have happened in the last couple of days that would fit these verses but probably won't be included in any photo collages any time soon.

Picture attending a baby shower that the mommy-to-be didn't due to pregnancy complications. This was originally scheduled a month ago and it became clear that if it was to proceed at all it would need to be without the honoree. But the fact that one month later the baby is still where he needs to be is cause for rejoicing!

Picture coming home last night to an email that one of the families in the homeschool co-op won't be there today because their house just burned to the ground! Rejoice that the whole family made it out safely. No, really rejoice!

Picture being awakened by the alarm and realizing that a fitful night of sleep was caused by a sick headache. Imagine having to teach an Ohio History class in less than 2 hours. Okay, I know you'll find this cause for rejoicing hard to believe coming from me, but here goes. Imagine being really thankful for a son with a learner's permit that can drive himself and his mother to co-op! (And imagine how thankful she was to awake and find she'd slept through his merge onto the freeway!  Just kidding. I was awake enough to talk him through it. And sedated just enough not to yell so I guess that makes two people in that car who were rejoicing.)

Okay, you've stuck with me so far so let's try one more. Picture that the "post-headache energy drain" leaves the impression of midnight instead of early afternoon of a basketball practice day. Then rejoice to find that practice is cancelled for the day!

And as a corollary to the above, picture that the "blah" feeling requires a cup of hot tea with lemon, honey, and Pepper. (The lemon and honey go in the tea. Pepper is the dog who hinders the drinking of same.) And there is rejoicing because no matter what the fashion police say comfy sweat pants and stained sweatshirt, which are now draped by the 55 lb. dog who decides she'd make a lovely living fur stole draped around the neck, didn't get thrown away after all!

It's all stuff worthy of thanks and rejoicing.  A little weird maybe, but part of the "in every thing" that God has brought our direction in the past few days. And this is only Monday!