giving thanks in ALL things

i left my Bible at church this week, so i've been depending on an old devotional bible for my morning quiet time. this morning, as i read, i came to 1 Thessalonians 5:16, and noticed a side-bar devotion about giving thanks in all things. the author discussed the feelings of the single who desires to be married, or the jobless who desperately wants to work - how are they supposed to be thankful? she lead her reader to the understanding that truly believing scripture - which shows us that God cares deeply about our circumstances - means being able to simply trust that whatever you're going through now is worth being thankful for now.

i pondered this briefly, but went about my day. flash forward - a friend approached me after kids church and said "did you hear what happened?" ... "uh, no?" he continued to tell me that a kid - let's call him "johnny" - snuck into the upper hallway during church, grabbed a roll of toilet paper, and sent it sailing down the balcony (while holding the loose end, of course).

my immediate reaction, besides restraining myself from repeatedly slamming my head into the cinder-block wall, was "wait a minute, one of MY kids did this!?" of course, knowing this kid's background, it wasn't impossible - i just was surprised that he'd go to such lengths.

humiliated, i swiftly dealt with the problem, but as i put the pieces together - including, his very late arrival to kids church (which i'd assumed had something to do with the DST time-change last night) - i realized that he hadn't even been in our care when this happened... which means he probably got to church on time, but was fooling around for 45 minutes before coming in.

so on the way home, i was reminded: give thanks in ALL circumstances. ok, Lord - how am i supposed to give thanks in THIS circumstance? ... well, i suppose i can be thankful that i'm not the kind of pastor that would expell a kid from my program, so he will get another chance to come to kids church - because i believe that's what Jesus would do. and i can be thankful that i have a good rapport with his guardians, so i know i can talk to them about this. and i can be thankful that ultimately, i have a chance to make this seemingly unlovable kid feel loved, and maybe - just maybe - i can make an impact on his life.