Fair and Balanced?

 We’ve been having severe weather resulting in power outages, fallen trees, flooding, and deaths. Is it wrong for me to then have gratitude for my own safety? No, not at all, as long as I don’t start thinking that I’m on God’s “Special List.”

 I’ve certainly encountered people who thought that way. Those who fervently believed that they received exceptional blessings because they had ‘earned God’s favor’. Is that even possible? Not from my perspective. 

I’m grateful for my safety. I’m grateful that I haven’t lost power, that I can still watch the news, still have an internet connection, and can stay warm and dry. That’s right now—who knows what today will bring?

Those who have not been so fortunate are still the fully sovereign beings they were created to be; right now many are experiencing challenges, and they get to choose how they meet them—with equanimity and grace, with bitter or hopeless resignation, or maybe with anger and exasperation. We all get to choose our responses to life’s varied occurrences.

My gratitude doesn’t negate my responsibility to others. My past experiences with the vagaries of life offer me the opportunity to have and express compassion in whatever way I am able. That would certainly include prayer for the safety and well-being of those more deeply impacted by the storms than I.

Recognizing the grace of this moment, I am grateful.