"That Day"

That day a bunch of chores to do,

And felt I’d get ‘em done,

Got back home with ample time,

Errands on the run.

Our mare, she had a colic,

We took her to the vet,

Everything turned out all right,

Time didn’t run short yet.

But when we got back home with her,

The other horses gone,

Knocked a gate right off its hinge,

I was thinkin,’ this is wrong.

Found ‘em ‘bout a mile away,

And got ‘em turned toward home,

Managed to get a gelding caught,

And ended his wild roam.

The other three ran down the road,

And galloped home at last,

Just one more chore, unload the hay,

I had to do it fast.

Got cleaned up in record time,

And kissed my wife good-bye,

She helped me get on out the door,

‘Cause my plane soon would fly.

I’ll admit I drove too fast,

Found a place to park,

Got on through security,

The evenin’ getting dark.

Turns out that the flight delayed,

I didn’t need to rush,

And all you folks must find fault,

Y’all can all just hush.

You never know how it will be,

And what you have to do,

Adjusting things along the way,

Just trying to get through.

And I believe the Lord above,

Will help me through the days,

And His grace will come to me,

When I need it most, always.

And in the end the things we do,

May not matter much, you see,

But how we go about it,

Did we do it thankfully?

Well, not exactly all the day,

My uptightness did come through,

But all in all, I thank the Lord,

I’ve been much worse, it’s true.

More prayin’ than the cussin’,

When something causes stress,

The Lord will help us do it,

He’ll help us pass the test.

“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus…” (1 Thess. 5:18, NLT)

Lots of people wonder about God’s will, what it is and how can they do it. It’s not always easy, is it? But one thing’s for certain: it’s God’s will for us to live thankfully. How do we know? Paul spelled it out. If you are a Christ-follower, “belong to Christ Jesus,” then it’s God’s will for you to be thankful in every circumstance. Easier said than done, right? Absolutely, but no less important. Ultimately it’s the Spirit who will help us learn the habit of giving thanks in everything. And it is something we can learn. In fact, it is our rehearsal for an eternity of giving thanks.

Lord, teach us to live thankfully, in Jesus’ name.

Photography by Jess Lee, jessleephotos.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Jess, and God bless you.