Tomorrow is the day when we used to have a lot of people sitting around our kitchen table. Two sets of parents/grandparents, siblings, kids, nieces, nephews…and depending on the number of people, I either did most of the cooking or we did pot luck. But the best part was being together. Traditional food dishes were just an extra blessing.
One thing I wish we had done more often during that time was to have each person say what they were grateful for. Actually, I wish this was something I did every day that I live. But don’t you know, we get busy with life and when all is going well, we forget, don’t we? Not always. There are many times when I thank God for the little things or even the surprising bigger things. But I think I do that more now because they stand out amid the tougher things in life.
I’ve talked to many people in the past few weeks, and if you listen to them long enough and honestly enough, I find that all of them, all of us, are facing one struggle or another. It’s part of the human condition.
And when we are dealing with grief over the loss of a loved one or laid low with debilitating health issues, or face trying relationship struggles, or have simply forgotten what hope looks like, it’s hard to find something to give thanks for, isn’t it? When I focus on myself, what went wrong that day instead of what went right, I’ll admit, I’m not always grateful.
But that’s kind of like telling God, “You’re not enough for me.” And really, that’s not the best way to look at life. To be grateful is to tell God, “You are good, and I trust You with all that You have planned for me.”
Gratitude begins with the ability to give our lives completely to God because we have just enough faith, maybe only the size of a small seed, but enough, to know that He is working behind the scenes. He is sovereign. He is seeking us and calling us to love Him with our whole heart and soul and mind and strength. And when we can do that, we are more than thankful. Anyone can be thankful. But not everyone is grateful because grateful happens even when life isn’t going the way we think it should.
I could write pages of things to be thankful for. I’ve made those lists. But being thankful in the moment for something nice that happened isn’t the same as being a grateful people. Grateful people recognize that they have Someone they should be grateful TO. Gratitude is a constant attitude of grace. We have to look for it, especially in the midst of the hard things that battle around us or inside of us.
I know Christmas is still a month away, but I find a lot of comfort in the words from the songs of the Christmas season. Comfort because this is the only time of year when we hear words of such hope, words that show us our need of Him, displayed so publicly.
Why should we be grateful in a world that has gone crazy with wild fires, floods, mass shootings, immoral lifestyles, ingratitude, and so much more? Because of Jesus. The last verse to my favorite Christmas song puts it this way:
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
When we truly see Jesus, who came to break our chains and set us free to love one another, and who will one day end all oppression, we can sing “sweet hymns of joy” in gratitude.
This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for a lot of things – my family, my friends, my home, my kitty, my job, but nothing compares to my grateful longing for Jesus. There is nothing on earth that compares to Him. May you see Him this season and not just “give thanks” but “be grateful” to the only One who deserves our praise.
Be blessed!
Happy Thanksgiving!
#thanksgiving2018 #begrateful #gratitude #gratefulforjesus
