Giving Thanks in All Things

In her book, One Thousand Gifts, Ann call its Ugly/Beautiful.

Can I thank Him for the ugly as well as the beautiful?

The bad as well as the good?

So today, I thanked Him for the package of mail from home

that was late by 3 weeks.

It was an irritating uncomfortable inconvenience

(or "little ducks nibbling at my feet" - as friend Louise Rice used to say)

 

Thank you, Lord, for this lost package of mail.

You know right where it is and what's in it.

Upon arrival at the desk,

the Post Mistress handed me the beautiful

(the most recent mail package)

and the ugly

(the first one that had been sitting there on a shelf  all along).

And guess what?!

There was nothing of significance in either of them.

A friend said that Jesus words,

"In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart! I have overcome the world."

(John 16:33)

Always make her think of Lynn Anderson's song:

I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.

Along with the sunshine,
There's gotta be a little rain sometimes.

When you take, you gotta give, so live and let live,
Or let go.

I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.

#104.  Neighbors with Green Thumbs