It was so hot and humid as we drove through the fields that the corn smelled like it was cooking on my stove. We had passed hundreds of miles of corn and soybeans that day, and I just wanted to get to my brother’s house and find a bed and some air conditioning. Then I noticed them. The dark fields glittered with millions of fireflies flashing their messages off and on like tiny signal lamps. I had never seen such a sight! The sparkling scene relieved my weariness and caused me to remember our awesome Lord and His delightful creation.

I remember another hot summer day when my friend showed me another one of God’s miracles. We were visiting their ranch and had ridden out into the fields to bask in the silence and the wonder of the endless Big Sky Country. (That’s what I was doing; they were checking on cattle.) He took a blade of grass and touched the flower on the alfalfa. The little petals snapped shut with surprising force. He explained that the alfalfa leafcutter bee pollinates the hayfields because it is equipped with a little shield that withstands the flower’s tripwire. I wonder if God smiled as He thought up some of His ideas.

I feel like I should write a Thank You note to Jesus, since all things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made (John 1:3). I thank Him for the heat and humidity that grow the abundant crops flourishing in the Midwest and for His planting and harvesting seasons. I thank Him for all the beautiful little wonders He has laid across our paths to remind us that He is here—not just as our provider, but as a God with a fascinating personality, full of imagination and humor. I thank Him for loving us and placing us on this amazing planet, where we can learn to walk with Him and love Him back.

As the news informs me of the tragedies instigated by terrorists, I hesitate to trust the boastful promises made by warring politicians, but I am comforted by the fact that the One who created our world, and all of us in it, has a plan of His own, and He died to guarantee its outcome. He promised never to leave us nor forsake us, even in life’s greatest storms and struggles. If He can supply our lands with good soil and enough rain to raise bumper crops and even add a few million fireflies to delight our souls, then He can do anything!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to all!