Having influence in the life of another is no small matter.

We all have our spheres of influence, but a primary one in my life has been the children around me. First as a big sister, then as a teacher, and more recently as an aunt. Influencing young ones is an especially big responsibility, as they are so absorbent and ready to imitate those they look up to. We help shape their view of the world, of others—but there’s no reason to be anxious about this, as long as we look to our own Good Shepherd for how we should shepherd others.

A couple weeks ago, as I pushed my 21-month-old niece in the stroller on one of our regular morning walks in the park, she suddenly sat up a little straighter. “Ooh, breeze!” she announced joyfully. I was amazed. She’d never said the word ‘breeze’ before and I didn’t realize she understood the concept, but she was correct—a gentle wind had just come up. Somewhere along our many previous walks she must have heard me make similar exclamations, and from that she learned what a breeze was and that it was a happy thing on a hot summer morning.

We started practicing at home. “What do we say when we feel a breeze?” I would ask her.

“Ooh, breeze!” She would respond, with the same excited inflection each time.

Now that she knew how to recognize a welcome breeze, I started adding something while we walked. I would start out with the familiar “Ooh, breeze!” and then add: “Thank You, Jesus, for the breeze.”

It wasn’t long before she was doing the same. She can’t yet say sentences that long, but she would repeat “Thank You—breeze.” It melted my heart.

One morning a misty rain was falling. She loves the rain and so do I, so we didn’t mind being out in it for our walk. It felt really good, as here in the Ozarks we’ve been in a hot, dry season. “Thank You, Jesus, for the rain.” It was natural to thank Him, and my little one piped right up after me. “Thank You—rain.” In fact, she kept repeating it over and over as we walked, and I was filled with joy as we praised the Lord for His blessing of precipitation.

I’ve also taught her that we can say “Thank You, Jesus, for the moon.” She loves looking for the moon any time she’s out at night. “Thank You—moon.”

Sometimes we run through these thanksgivings when I put her to sleep. She’ll be snuggled under her covers and we take time to praise the Lord.

“Thank You, Jesus, for the breeze.” “Thank You—breeze.”

“Thank You, Jesus, for the rain.” “Thank You—rain.”

“Thank You, Jesus, for the moon.” “Thank You—moon.” 

These things—the breeze, the rain, the moon—are rather ordinary. It’s easy for them to not even cross our minds as we go about our days. Yet when we look for ways to practice gratefulness, even the smallest things become opportunities to worship the Lord. I’m teaching my niece that good and beautiful things come from God and that He is worthy of praise. He does so much more than bless us with the breeze, the rain, and the moon, but even these are not to be overlooked when thanking Him.

We’ve also been working on saying “Thank You, Jesus” for the people in our lives, and it was so precious the first time she thanked Him for me. I love being an aunt, and I love the thousands of teachable moments I share with her, but it can be hard too. Any of you who have children in your lives know that every moment is not a “Thank You, Jesus” moment. But we’re cultivating a heart of gratitude at our house, and it’s meaningful to me too. Through teaching her, I’m teaching myself to see those little blessings He gives to brighten our day. I’m tuning my heart to see His heart toward us.

Thank You, Jesus, for this day. Fill my heart with wonder as I look for You in it.

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Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay