It's easy to be thankful when things are going your way and all is well. What about those days when the wheels fall off? Or when someone with overwhelming negative energy confronts you while you're quietly seeking peace? I've seen many of those days. One night when I woke up to this ominous glow of light beyond the surrounding foothills of our sleepy Southern California community, the first sign of a catastrophic wildfire rapidly approaching. The Santa Ana winds spewed volleyball-sized fireballs all around us at dizzying speeds as we hurriedly exited with nothing but the clothes on our backs and photos of our past lives. The next morning my brother-in-law and I snuck back into our neighborhood after attending Mass on Sunday morning to give thanks for our safety. The church was nearly empty because our neighborhood had turned into some kind of a scene from a wartorn third world country and most of the roads were barricaded. We got close enough to see black plumes of smoke from the mountaintop where our cedar home overlooked our community. The only things visible were several warped steel pillars that once supported our next-door neighbors home. According to the firefighters, some kind of fire chimney from our neighbor's burning home miraculously drew the flames away from our home and protected it from disaster.
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus – 1 Thessalonians 5-18. Be thankful when it's not easy to be thankful. Jesus is with you always. When all else fails, be thankful he is standing with you in every trial even when you feel you are all alone. Have a great day.
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