Our daughter began playing softball this spring, adding an element of excitement to our lives. While she has been learning the basics of a sport that both Lauren and I both enjoy, on an even deeper level she is beginning to understand team dynamics. The softball teams are made up of girls who are five and six years old, many of whom had never held a bat or worn a glove before their first practice. More than about developing star softball players, the aim of the league is to create a love of the game and an understanding of sportsmanship. After each three-inning game (where no score is kept other than in the minds of overly-competitive fathers), the girls on each team line up on the baselines of their respective sides of the field and yell out, “Great game!” to each other before thanking their coaches and racing to grab their post-game snack.
Whenever I read the words of Psalm 136, I feel as though I am looking heavenward and breathing out a constant refrain of “Great life, Lord, thank you!” While this passage makes up only the first few verses of the psalm, the refrain “His love endures forever” appears in all twenty six verses, serving as a reminder that all aspects of our lives and of creation are gifts from the Lord, gifts which we see through His unending love for us. It’s easy to offer God our thanks when something wonderful and momentous occurs in our lives, like hearing “It’s benign” or “You’re hired” or holding the new baby for the first time. We often find it much more difficult, though, to offer up our thanks for the everyday aspects of life.
It is God “who alone does great wonders” and “who by his understanding made the heavens.” My gratitude to our Creator needs to be for all parts of my life. This morning there is air to breathe and gravity to keep my feet firmly pressed against the earth as well as a roof over my head and the love of two amazing children and a phenomenal wife. When I shift my perspective and continuously thank the Lord for every single part of my life and His Creation, not only are my eyes opened wider with joy, but my heart is opened to care for those around me.