It seems fitting that as I lay sleepless in the wee hours of Thanksgiving morning that Thankfulness be the blog of the day. So many things can fall under this heading and it could take a lifetime for any one person to give an account of the myriad of blessings that have been in abundance through our lifetimes. Whatever you believe, being thankful is not only important but also a lesson in humility. Some of you out there are blessed with an abundance of so much that you have become complacent, save on this one day of the year dedicated to giving thanks. While others have so little and yet seem so thankful all year round despite dire circumstance or position. And most of us fall probably in the middle some where - counting our blessings more than not and ever hopeful for tomorrow.
Lately my pity party of one has bogged me down into an endless blah blah blah. But really as I write this I must confess that I have more to be thankful for than I sometimes want to see or accept. God has proven time after time that when I rest in his palms, I have all the shelter and comfort I need. He feeds me, cloths me, nurtures me, will heal me one way or another, and because I know my King I am forever confident that He will never let me wither, in spite of what I might think. So as I reach out to everyone, hopefully producing fruit for eternity, I want to share briefly what it means to me to be thankful.
To be thankful is to be willing to be satisfied with what you have and not begrudge what you do not. Being thankful is gratitude paid forward. Thankfulness is an act of appreciation for what others have given and done for you - OR not because we live in a world mired down in poverty, homelessness, hopelessness, hunger and so many lost people. Floundering about wondering what to believe or not believe; what to go after and what not to, etc. But in thankfulness we give and receive grace fully and deeply from others/to others. When I am thankful I am no longer looking at the little picture but rather the big one. And while God may only give me snippets and previews I always know with a little bit of humble pie and a lot of Faith, I can always find things to be thankful for.
So as you all sit down for Thanksgiving Dinner shared between family and friends; as you sit around the table giving thanks aloud to one another, I challenge you to be unique in how you count your blessings. Be creative, and with abundant joy reach out and show others how thankful you are when someone says your welcome in a real and genuine way. Or when someone offers a prayer for you, unsolicited and with genuine concern for you, be thankful. Or perhaps as you look down at what you don't have - do a 180 and Look Up at what you do have. I am ever thankful and with gratefulness even when I feel my worst, that I am the daughter of a King. I have love, kindness, grace and mercy; He gives me the strength to walk Faith, Hope and Love. And while I will fail every day at every one of these things at least once, I AM thankful for the wounds he took for my sins, for my inadequacy and for yours. I am thankful that He died for my inequity so that I, and all of you may know eternal life.
pebble out..
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