In everything...

I was thinking about the verse in I Thessalonians 5:18:

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

I think we'd all agree that this is not always easy to do. I've sometimes heard people rail against this verse: "What?? My husband just left me/I just found out I have cancer/My son got his girlfriend pregnant. I'm supposed to thank God for that???"

I guess I never noticed before, that little word "in." God does not call us to thank Him *for* everything, but *in* everything. "FOR everything give thanks." That would change the situation entirely, and I couldn't do it. But switch our thinking to "IN everything?"  We may be barefoot, but can remember that old proverb, "I was sad because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet." Not so difficult to do.

We've just been through two weeks of 95-105 degrees, four and a half days of which we had no power. Threw out the contents of my frig, but had opportunity to clean it sparkly clean and, even though I threw out four bags of food,  have managed to eat every meal since. Friends offered their lovely home for a respite. Got considerable visiting time with neighbors, since there was nowhere else to go. Time slowed down for a bit, and isn't that what we are always saying we want?

We don't have to thank the Lord FOR the heat/inconvenience/loss of food and the basic comfort factor. But I can thank Him IN the circumstance, for we all know that there are always an abundance of things for which to be thankful, no matter what is going on in our lives.