Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100
It should have been obvious. One of the latest additions to my home office is a digital picture frame. It shows pictures, which is pretty obvious, but there is more. You see, I can invite people to share their pictures with me. So, when they want to share, they click a few keys on their phone, and Shazam, they show up on my frame. A quiet ding lets me know that something new has shown up.
I’ve invited my wife Judy, and my three daughters to be a part of my digital frame world. This is a special way that I can be a part of their world even though I might not be there physically. It is also a great way to remember all the wonderful things that God has brought into our lives. And the best part? That list of things continues to get longer and longer. God is so incredibly generous…sometimes it is super obvious but sometimes we must look a little closer.
One picture on my frame had me a little puzzled…until I looked a little closer. The picture was a nice shot of a tree line. Now I love trees, and I love nature, but I had to wonder why someone shared this picture with me…and then I saw it. Near the top of the photograph, which was taken during the day, was a full moon. At nighttime, it would have been obvious but in daylight, it was barely visible. Someone knew and remembered that I am a big fan of full moons and shared it with me. What was not so obvious became obvious when I looked a little closer. I.Looked.A.Little.Closer.
It is amazing what we can see if we look closer and what we can miss if we don’t. The story is told about a minister who was speaking to a group of men. To make a point about not missing the obvious, he took a big sheet of paper and drew a small black dot in the middle with a marker. He held it up and asked the group, “What do you see?” One guy quickly said, “I see a black dot” and the pastor told him he was exactly right. But he wasn’t done.
He then asked, “Do you see anything else?” With squinted eyes, they finally had to shake their heads answering, no. The minister smiled and said, “Are you sure? You all completely missed the most important thing—the entire sheet of paper.” What is true in the story is true in life. You see, in life, we often get caught up in the small, dot-like disappointments and struggles we experience. Meanwhile, we forget to focus on the bigger picture—the many blessings we receive from God every day. When we do that, we quickly discover two things. First, our world abounds with blessings and two, the good in our lives far outweighs the bad.
The truth is that it’s easy to get fixated on life’s trials and challenges, isn’t it? The key, though, is to keep your focus on God’s blessings. As we celebrate this Thanksgiving Day, let’s take a moment and thank Him for all the good in our lives and let His joy fill our hearts! After all, one of God’s greatest blessings is the assurance that, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 