“...Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
-Ephesians 5:19-20
I love this verse because I love that God knows it’s good for our hearts to sing. We don’t have to actually hum a tune, but we can make music every day by giving thanks in our hearts in every moment. Whatever this new year may hold for each of us, it seems that a beautiful way forward is gratitude. It’s the practice I force upon my kids, especially when they seem disgruntled about something. They sigh a bit, but they know that I will always respond to whining by making them list off things they are grateful for. It can be simple things. It can be specific or general, but gratitude has a way of bringing beauty and melody into any circumstance or situation. Gratitude doesn’t negate hardship or pain or even have to ignore it. It seems to me that gratitude connects us to hope in any moment because no matter what, there is a reason to be grateful, for an enduring Love is holding us, even when we are falling apart. Cheers to 2020, y’all! And cheers to counting up the multitude of gifts that surround us each day. Here’s a list of mine today: Sun, breath, sight, grace, hot pot of soup on the stove, and watching our kids fall in love with Star Wars.
