Thanksgiving, Day 1

Thanksgiving, Day 1

A thankful heart

Thanksgiving week around my house this year will be different from any other. This is our first Thanksgiving at our house. In the past we have traveled to my husbands grandparents house for a short visit. Grandma Ada will be remembered but not present this year and Grandpa Dale moved to be closer to his family. We then go to my grandmothers house for the rest of the day, sometimes overnight. This year, she is in Tennessee, visiting Angela and her family. The same trip we took a year ago. This year we will open up our home to Dale's parents, my mom and sister and to a friend of mine, Donna and her daughter, Hannah. The dynamics have changed.

One thing stays the same, the age old question, "What are you thankful for this year". We used to write down what we were thankful for and put it in a shoebox and read all the responses from the previous years. That question usually doesn't cause any need for reflection, it's not hard to find things to be thankful for. This year things have changed. You don't have to look very hard to find people who are struggling. Even in our immediate family we are facing the unknown. Turn on the TV or the radio and you hear about the economy, politics and death. Friends and family members are being laid off or loosing their jobs, businesses are closing, loosing revenue. Vehicles are breaking down, marriages are breaking up, and there is still poverty among us. So what do we do, how do we find joy in the midst of all this? Is there really anything to be thankful for? I believe that we must seek God and be thankful for all the blessings we have in our lives. The fact that we had the money to invest in the first place, a home, a car, clothes, marriages, relationships, jobs. A few weeks ago our pastor said that if everything were how we wanted it to be then we would not be able to bear fruit. We would have never been given the opportunity to learn patience, gentleness, self control, generosity, peace, joy, the list goes on. All of the things that come from living through a storm. So, looking at our responses to the poll we took on what we are thankful for, it makes sense that we would vote Salvation, Grace, and family as the most important. Though our families may change in numbers, those who are in our family hold a place in our hearts and memories, either good or bad. But beyond that, we are all a family, those who believe in God. Because of who we are in Christ, there will be an overflow in our lives, there will always be something to be thankful for. I am sure we all have our own lists, but it is not surprising that we would find these three words among the lists. Grace alone brings us into thanksgiving. I encourage you to bring the overflow with you as you go this week, wherever it is that you will visit. It is with this spirit of thanksgiving that we will find this week more bearable, where we can see beyond our current situations and circumstances. What a blessing that is.

Don't forget to add one more person to your list of guests. God will be with you in the midst of all the chaos and differences you may find at your thanksgiving table this year. He will give you the grace you need to get through it all, who knows, maybe you will bear more fruit where you weren't before.

2 Corinthians 4:15
All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 9:11
You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

I call the above verse my 911 emergency plan. On every occasion, even those that are not my favorite, I can be generous, I can share the overflow of thanksgiving.

1 Timothy 4:4
For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,

Dear Lord, I invite you into my thoughts and my home this week. Through the activities and the gatherings, the relationships and the family time, I ask that you be here in the midst of our plans, of our gathering. That I will glorify you in all that I do and that you will feel welcome. Lord, I ask that you be with each of those who read this, that they will feel your presence. Lord, we give you praise in thanksgiving for all the blessings in our lives. You are amazing, Amen.