The Weight of Gratitude

It was on this Saturday one year ago—in this season when the goldenrod blooms and the leaves just begin to turn—that we made our vows under a majestic oak tree.

original photo by jenm.photography

Since then, I’ve been overwhelmed with gratitude, both solemn and joyful—this light but sacred weight to carry, like a bridal bouquet. A continuous sense of wonderment and thankfulness has pervaded my first year of marriage, like beautiful music ever playing in the background. God has blessed me far beyond what I could ask or imagine.

This morning at breakfast my husband of one year (whom I love even more than I did on our wedding day) read aloud from Ephesians 5: 20: giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We discussed giving thanks for the hard things, the painful things, the wrong things. There’s a time for everything, he reminded me—a time to mourn, a time to rejoice.

But always, it is the time to give thanks, because our Lord is good, present, and working for our benefit in every situation, though we don’t always understand what He’s doing in the moment.

Today, Lord, I humbly give thanks for Your sovereign, loving direction in my life.