I have always wanted to have the kind of family that sits around the Thanksgiving table and shares one item of thanks, or that makes a keepsake jar full of slips of paper containing each family member's thanks focus, or who turns to each family member in turn and says, out loud, what makes him or her thankful for that person. We are not that family. We love each other, but shy away from the warm fuzzies, not for practical purposes, but for the fact that, to us, the warm fuzzies feel fake. No judgement on those of you who feel comfortable with it -- as for us, we have deep feelings that we keep a little more private, almost sacred, and the people toward whom we feel them will know it. But the whole world, or even just our corner of it, may not. Private.
Add to that, most of our clan does not feel artistic or crafty, nor do they like to write anything more than a signature on a document when required. No dice on the creative segment for Thanksgiving.
Psalm 95:1-6
- "O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker."
I will still dream of a day on which we actually do participate in such an undertaking, but until then, I have a list.
I thank God for:
- life
- my husband, my hero
- my children - the hard-gotten offspring, neither of whom entered this world without a struggle; even to conceive them was a struggle
- parents who don't pry, offer advice, or judge
- God's grace in all things, even when I act stubbornly and can't see it
- our church and for the preaching of the Word each week, which I never experienced until we changed churches almost 6 years ago
- the unstoppable power of love, even when the chips are down
- hope, and the longer I live, the longer I know that hope truly only comes in Christ
- hindsight and wisdom that come from experience and perseverance
- friends who share their worries and dreams as well as their sorrows and joys and make life all the more fulfilling
- the low points in life -- because they showed me truth when I was blind, and made the mountaintops that much more spectacular
- the lasting power of words
- the ability to forgive and be forgiven
- freedom
- music
- the blessing of enough
Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not, find some time every day to thank God for the blessings you have. Don't focus on the struggles, the parts of life or marriage that give you fits, the stuff you'd rather not face. Focus on the blessings, and watch them multiply.
Make a list. On paper, in your head ... in your heart.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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