Butterflies. Bathtubs. Thumbs. Three completely unrelated words, right? In the word realm I doubt this trio of letter bodies hang around at the same parties. Yet yesterday, as I was surrounded by 125 children, aged 3-8, these three words hung in the air side-by-side as the precious kids shouted out things they were thankful for. As the campus pastor at Christian Faith School, it’s kind of my ‘job’ to teach kids about God, but more times than not, I’m humbled by the pure wisdom that pops so naturally out of the mouth of babes.
I don’t wake up every morning thanking God for butterflies or thumbs. Gotta say, the indoor plumbing is frequently a prayer shout out, especially on cold winter mornings. But butterflies and thumbs? I’m not sure I ever thanked God for those, and yet what these two represent are powerful. These energetic kids are on to something.
What would we do without thumbs? Seriously, think about it. Until you’ve taped your thumbs back and tried to go about your day for a bit, I don’t think you can truly appreciate the genius of an opposable thumb. You won’t get much further than using that indoor plumbing we’re so thankful for to understand what I’m talking about it. Try it. I triple dog dare you. I guarantee your gratitude will abound.
Thankfulness is a powerful force. But as we whirl about our lives, masterfully adulting with packed schedules, relational and financial stresses abounding (and I’m not even going to pull on the thread of political and social insanity stacking up out there), it’s so easy to neglect thankfulness in our lives. But it’s the very thing that can rescue us all. From our own selfishness, entitlement, racism, and judgement.
And then there’s the butterflies, beautifully fluttering around, decorating our spring and summer skies with splashes of color. God didn’t need to do that. I’m sure our food chain would’ve survived these millions of years sans the Lepidoptera rhopalocera. But God is an exquisite interior designer with a desire for extreme and gorgeous details. Just like a passionate lover intricately building the home for his soon-to-be wife, God wanted everything to be perfect. For you. For me. That’s how much He adores us.
Today, stop and look around you. Observe. Breathe. And thank God for every moment. Put aside your adulting, your stress, your worries. Take on the mind of a child and thank Him for all the little things, which really are the big things, that are all around you. Your life. Your family and friends. Your church. Thank Him for the fact you are blessed to be able to eat indoors today. Thank Him for this electronic device and double that thankfulness by trying to use it without your thumbs.
And thank Him for the blessing of butterflies. After all, if He cared so much to grant us the simple beauty of butterflies, how much more will He take care of our every need?
