Truth be told, Thanksgiving is perhaps my favorite holiday. December 25, I may be whistling a different tune, but for today the approach of Thanksgiving is feeling wonderful. I love the opportunity to celebrate with a thankful heart and to recall all that has been a blessing. AND - I do love me some Thanksgiving dinner!!!
Sometimes I have to catch myself though. The truth is that thanksgiving is really quite powerful because the act of thanksgiving can breed change in our hearts. Whether it's our daily facebook post of what we are thankful for, or quickly mentioning how thankful we are for x, y or z to a friend, it is so easy for thanksgiving to become easily talked about. Sometimes I have to ask myself whether or not my heart is truly engaged in thanksgiving....
Because somewhere out there is a connection that goes a little something like this:
Thanksgiving....is born out of my humble willingness to say 'God I can't do life on my own and I am not enough on my own'....which leads me to a vulnerable place of true trust that my God will show up in my weaknesses or that I am simply choosing to trust that He will show Himself true despite difficult circumstances.
That may be a little half-baked, but I am pretty sure there must be something between thanksgiving, humility (I'm not enough in and of myself), and trust in Him. Some of the most powerful moments I have experienced of feeling heaviness lift off of my heart have been when I truly feel the temptation to dwell on the dark but make a conscious decision to lift my eyes. To start telling Him what I am thankful for about His character. To start reminding myself that this One has been faithful generation after generation. That He has delivered me countless times before. That He is at work even when it's hard to perceive. That the truth is, no matter how I feel, I am protected. I am shielded and I am comforted.
And that is when thankfulness helps to break us through that seemingly impenetrable wall of doubt, disappointment or just a stupid ol' case of the doldrums. When we start talking to our soul and redirecting the choices of our hearts, heaviness has to lift to some extent.
Paul so simply reminds me in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Hmmmm....give thanks in ALL circumstances. That doesn't mean act like things are perfect when they clearly aren't. Robotic declarations won't do us much good, will they? But why would Paul go on to say that this is the will of God for us? To be thankful in all? I think it probably gets back to that trust thing. Because, I can be thankful in all when I trust that I am not alone. Which is the truth for each one of us. We are never asked to walk alone!
Mercy I get so stirred up when I think about thankfulness like that. I think that when we connect thankfulness to trust, the enemy must get nervous!
I wish I knew what your plans are to celebrate Thanksgiving! I wish we could sit down and share with each other the truly remarkable things that have happened this year to once again show us His trustworthiness. Man alive....that would be a long coffee date.
Speaking of Thanksgiving and things I enjoy, may I leave you with something truly wonderful to my family? It's my Gan's recipe for cornbread dressing. I can't get over it and I don't ever want to. If you're looking for a great East-Texas approach to Southern dressing this year, I think you'll like it!
Click here for the recipe!
Love y'all and Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Abi
P.S....
Can't help but say that I am really proud of my man these days. Really proud... and THANKFUL for him and all that he teaches me.
AND I am thankful for this one bear I know:
AND I am thankful that Starbucks has given me incentive to buy five holiday drinks so I can get my sixth free. I am up for the challenge and I'm taking it seriously!
No comments:
Post a Comment