Look up, look around

There is a story in the Old Testament where the patriarch Abraham gives his selfish nephew, Lot, first choice in selecting farmland. Lot, being a bit of a jerk, takes all the good land and forces his uncle to pack his bags and move on.
Abraham must have been downcast or pouting or something because God spoke to Abraham and said, (and I paraphrase) “Hey! Look up! Look around! You still have plenty of good stuff. You still have me.” (Genesis 13:14-17)
I think most of us can relate to Abraham these days. It seems like all the good stuff is gone and we’ve been left with nothing. No school. No bars open after 10 p.m. No 20-pound Thanksgiving turkey.
No hugs. No visits in the nursing home. Nowhere to go without a mask. No gatherings of 10 or more people from three or more unique households.
Nothing.
But then the voice of God travels over the centuries and He says, “Look up. Look around. There is still plenty of good stuff.”
Which makes me recall all the good stuff from last week.
My 3-year old niece informed me, “Isaiah has a little butt. I have a big butt and you have a really big butt!”
We still have the honesty of children.
My 5-year-old granddaughter told me to be extra careful around “poisonous ducks.”
Things could be worse.
Another of our granddaughters turned 3. She chose “a goat cake” for this year’s celebration. The baker’s choice of material for the horns left us guessing, “perhaps … old bananas?”
We can still laugh until our sides hurt.
Shopping at Bomgaars in the pet food aisle, I discovered a product for chickens called “Flock Block.”
Try saying “flock block” three times, really fast. You sound like a chicken, don’t you?
We can still be ridiculous.
Snow is still pretty. People are still resilient. Coffee still smells good in the morning. 
If we look up and look around, we’ll see that even in these long, lonely, quiet, blue days God is still providing plenty of good stuff.
Happy Thanksgiving.