I know that for some in our organization, this has been a challenging a week. I guess that’s really true of most weeks in most organizations like ours. When there are over 500 people doing the work that we do every day, really getting in there and helping people with mental health, emotional, and behavioral challenges, there are bound to be easier and harder days.

While there are a variety of things that can help with these difficult times, a fairly common and simple approach to challenges can be to answer them with gratitude. As to not get bogged down in the problems that abound, we can find the places and ways in which we can be thankful, because those are also always in abundance.

In youth ministry, one way that I liked to begin a discussion on gratitude is to ask students, “Where did you see God today?” I know that’s a question that is often asked on mission trips, in order to help students identify how God was working in, around, and through them. I know that many of us at Methodist Family Health could answer this question as to where we have seen God in our lives and work this week, but I had a couple of places where I observed God that I wanted to share.

First, I saw God on Sunday afternoon. We had a local church coming to lead a service for the students at the Little Rock PRTF, and as I arrived to get set-up, I had one of our PRTF students ask to talk with me. She was upset because she thought she was supposed to discharge the day before, but was still there and at the time was not sure when her new discharge date was going to be. She confided that she was worried about her standing with God, because she had gotten upset and had blamed God that she was not yet home. She acknowledged that she realized this sequence of events was not God’s fault, yet she was concerned that God would leave her because of her blame and anger.

I reminded her that God was full of love and mercy, and that her blame would not impede her standing with God through Christ. We walked downstairs to the service, and the group immediately shared, through their devotional, their songs, and their Scripture, the message that God will never leave us. One of their songs was literally titled, “The God Who Stays.” In that moment, God proved to our student, and reminded me, just how intimately God sees each of our students, and really, each of us.

I also saw God this week in another student who stood to read Scripture in a worship service that we were able to take her to on Wednesday night, and as several of our students participated in a youth group discussion with their peers, and then proceeded to pray for others and be prayed for. I saw God in the seeming disruption that happened that caused only one client to be in attendance for a Bible study, which ended up resulting in a very tailored and great discussion about what God was doing in her life, and what she wanted to do in return.

In short, I was just reminded at every turn this week that God is with us. Even when it feels chaotic, even when we aren’t sure what we are doing, that we are competent enough to be doing it, or if we feel forgotten in our work, we can rest assured that the God who cares for the sparrows cares for us. May our eyes be open to the reminders that are provided, and may we reach for gratitude in times of difficulty.

Where did YOU see God this week?