“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
(Ecclesiastes 3:1)

This weekend I’ve been reflecting on what it means to be grateful to God for the seasons in life, while also embracing the changes and new opportunities he brings.

We’re preparing to move away from our home of the last seven years. It’s hard to imagine that soon we won’t see the people and places that have meant so much to us. This transition has led me to reflect deeply on how good God has been to our family—through both the highs and the lows—and how much we have to be thankful for.

Life is fleeting.
Ecclesiastes reminds us powerfully that we don’t control how many days we have. We can’t cling to the past or script the future. “Time and chance” come to us all—for good and for ill (Ecclesiastes 9:11).

In the face of this uncertainty, we often overcompensate. We plan, stress, and grow anxious. We worry about tomorrow and miss today. We live distracted—and barely living. And in the process, we miss what God is doing.

But moments of change and transition offer a gift: they allow us to pause, look back, and recognize the fingerprints of a loving and sovereign God.

So right now, I want to express gratitude for the many mercies—great and small—that God has shown us in this season.

Simple Joys

• I’m grateful for favorite restaurants, hot Spanish rolls, and taro ice cream on a summer day.

Family & Personal Growth

• I’m grateful to have watched my daughters grow over these past years—performing in musicals and ballet shows, creating artwork and school projects.
• I’m grateful to watch both my wife and I grow—individually and together.
• I’m grateful for conversations around cups of coffee and long walks with friends talking about deep theological issues.
• I’m grateful for shoulders to cry on and friends who were willing to show up and help during hard times.

Work & Provision

• I’m grateful to have had a job that was conducive to remote work and that thrived even during the challenges of COVID-19.
• I’m grateful for meaningful work in public interest litigation and the chance to make a difference.
• I am grateful for my new job and new challenges and opportunities.

Community & Friendship

• I’m grateful our kids had neighbors to play with during lockdowns, keeping them socially connected.
• I’m grateful for so many good churches and faithful Christians.
• I’m grateful for pastors who preached the Word clearly and faithfully.
• I’m especially grateful for the men’s group I’ve been a part of these last few years and the deep friendships formed there.

Spiritual Journey

• I’m grateful to God that this is the place where I came to salvation and came to truly know the Lord.
• I’m grateful even for our time in the LDS ward—the callings I held and the people I served with. God used it all.
• I’m grateful for the many prayers lifted to heaven on our behalf.

All of these things were wonderful and ultimately from God. They are the fingerprints of a loving and sovereign Father who cares deeply about the details of our life.

We cannot control the future. All we can do is live the life God gives us with gratitude. “However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all.” (Ecclesiastes 11:8)

Confidence in light of the cross.

For Christians, the cross gives us deeper meaning for hope amidst uncertainty. Jesus died on the cross to secure for us eternal life. He conquered death and the grave. And we can know that eventually every tear will be wiped away from our eyes. As we looked to the cross, we can have confidence that all things will work out for our good in Christ Jesus. We can know that nothing will separate us from God’s love.

A friend of mine from my men’s group made this beautiful cross decorated like sand on the beach hitting up against the waves of the ocean. On the sand are footprints representing the footprints of God in our lives (to invoke the well-known poem). I love this image. Amidst the chaos of the waves and the tumult of life, the cross provides a constant assurance that God will bring us through it all to glory.

Looking back encourages me to look forward.

God has carried me through so much over the last seven years. And that gives me hope that the same God that carried me to this point will continue to carry us into the next phase of our life.  It makes me want to spend less time stressing and more time living and serving and enjoying. It makes me want to trust God more and to lean more fully into a renewed resurrection life lived in light of the cross.