Good Morning Gorgeous,

It’s a brand new day. A fresh new start. A new day to rise and mine for treasure.

Precious metals and stones are often found under rubble, buried under the dirt, deep underground, and so covered in dirt that they don’t even look like a precious stone.

From this picture, we can imagine that even in the darkest hour, treasures can be mined out.

And it sometimes takes extreme strength to look for the good and be thankful in the midst of hurt, loss, disappointment, or a season of waiting.

My sweet son Brycen demonstrated exactly what this looks like yesterday morning as He thanked God with tears running down his cheeks.

I have twin boys who are six, and we are working daily, hourly, sometimes every few minutes on obeying.

Right now, even the simplest request can become a battle. It’s a work in progress to raise strong willed children with clear boundaries that have consequences.

I try to be super consistent, and I have learned that follow through is a good friend to me.

Open gym night is what they look forward to all week. They get to go to our gymnastics gym and just play freely from 7 to 9pm on Friday nights.

I don’t usually take that away. It’s a special end of the week treat.

But, yesterday morning both of my boys were being dig their heels in defiant. Just flat out disobedience and in each individual situation, they both had a chance to obey and chose to do the opposite of what they were told. Deep breaths for mom, and a clear consequence for boys. This is how we deal right now.

So, I told them that they would be missing open gym, and the I’m sorries started pouring in. The promises to do better. When that didn’t work, the onslaught of “You’re the meanest mommy ever, ” followed…

We survived and got loaded into our van. Brycen cried the whole way to breakfast. Each Friday morning we have drive through breakfast as a treat.

We get to the drive thru and I took orders and the tears were still flowing.

Okay, food is in the car! Maybe all would calm down now. I pass Brycen his breakfast. He opens it, takes one look at his breakfast sandwich and bursts into tears all over again. I ordered his food wrong.

I had one sad boy. He lost his prized open gym and now his breakfast was not what he wanted.

Have you ever felt that way? Like the world was crashing down and then one little thing makes it a million times worse?

Here’s the part that makes this story so precious. I had a VERY sad boy. He was disappointed in his food, and yet what he did next warmed my heart.

I asked who wanted to say the blessing. Brycen volunteered, and with tears pouring down his face his prayer went like this:

“Dear Lord,

Thank You for this food. Thank You for this day. Thank you for treats for breakfast. Thank You that every day we have food to eat.”

Amen.”

My jaw dropped! He thanked God for the very food he was disappointed in, and then thanked God for giving Him food to eat everyday.

He recognized in his little spirit that God is good to us even when we don’t get what we want.

Part of me wanted to take the gym consequence away right then and there, but I couldn’t.

But I did tell Him how beautiful his prayer was, and I held it in my heart all day.

My baby boy thanked God with tears running down his face.

I can learn from that. We can learn from that.

There is always, always something to be thankful for. And as we shift our eyes from the mud to the treasure, our hearts are open to receive the peace and joy of the Lord.

This Christmas season, we can infuse the spirit of Thanksgiving and Thankfulness right into the daily tasks, struggles, and hustle and bustle.

Thankfulness for a God so good that He chose to leave His seat on High and meet with man face to face in the form that they could see and touch: Jesus.

Thankfulness that He will return in all His glory one day and His rule will overthrow evil once and for all.

Thankfulness that He is alive and well on the inside of me, choosing me as His own even though I don’t deserve it.

Thankfulness that in all seasons, through all things, He is gooooooooood!

Dear Heavenly Father,

You are so goood to us! So loving, so compassionate, and so amazingly patient. Help us to mine for the treasures even through the pain and losses and disappointments. Thank you Lord for redeeming us and saving us!

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Blessings!

Vanessa Lynn