Rain Drops Dancing on the Street

As I sit here working on a gratitude talk, a rain storm has started here in Columbus, and I find myself pausing to watch the rain. We have an attic fan in our house, so we have that one bringing in the cool, rain-scented air. My roommate and I sit here working and continually sigh of happiness and contentment with the weather.

A warm cup of tea. A good book. My journal. My bible. My favorite pen. Good music.

Sometimes we take the little things for granted, or we get annoyed by the inconvenience rain may cause us. However, other times it is so clear, so easy to see God's presence working in our lives. A friend posted on facebook that a child told her she was beautiful, and another told her she had beautiful hair - Jesus gave her a little extra loving through little children today.

I work in a hospital, and I try to look for Jesus when I'm there - I mean, he is the Divine Physician, so he's clearly present in a hospital setting. One time I saw him through a father loving his sick daughter. I see him through a son loving his father. Those are the 'easy' ones per say. Some of the hard ones have been when I am with a patient who starts acting at. One time a patient hopped out bed and started running down the halls, going into patients rooms, and through the help of other staff we were able to get him into bed, and calm him down. After this night, I left feeling a little distressed, but then as I was driving home, I asked myself - where was Jesus in this situation? I realized then that Jesus was present in me... this patient can be seen as the follower of Christ rebelling against Jesus, and lashing out on Jesus - where I am in Jesus, loving this person regardless of him hurting me, and staying with him through the hard time. Jesus does that through us.

Seeing Jesus in all scenarios is challenging, and it's something we learn. "I have learned the secret of being well fed and of being hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need." Phil. 4:12

Gratitude, eucharisteo - thanksgiving and joy - is not something found over night, but something we learn in a slow, life-long process. We start with the easy, and as it's easier to give thanks in the easy times, we begin to look for thanksgiving opportunities in the hard too.

May we rejoice in the little things, the rain drops dancing on the street.