I love days where I don’t have to get up and out the door in a hurry. Days I can linger and reflect and enjoy the peace and quiet of my living room. This Thanksgiving is one of those days for me.
As I sit here by the twinkle lights of my tree, I’m thankful.
Thankful for my boys, who are out in the freezing cold, running the turkey trot. For Alex, it’s a tradition. For Mookie, it’s the first year he’s done it. I can’t wait until they come home and share all the stories.
Thankful for my daughter, who is still sleeping, and that’s fine with me. Never wake a sleeping teenager who isn’t a morning person if you don’t have to. Am I right?
I’m grateful for my husband, who is smoking a turkey breast and some deer back strap. Yummy.
And for my dog, who’s snuggled up on the pillow beside me, being quiet for once. (She loves to bark. It’s her favorite thing to do besides sleep.)
I’m full of gratitude for so many things. My parents and siblings and cousins and aunties and uncles and nieces and nephews. My family-in-love spread all over the country. My friends and church.
I have a warm house to live in and a car that works. I don’t have to go to the laundromat to do laundry. Or to the creek.
I have clean drinking water right from my faucet.
My family is intact.
We recently had dinner with a young man from another country who was invited to leave his homeland because he wouldn’t stop preaching the gospel. Meanwhile his wife and sons are still there, and they haven’t seen each other in 18 months. He also had 13 friends and co-laborers in the work of the ministry who were executed earlier this year.
It brings everything into focus, hearing these stories. My hardships, although real to me, aren’t as hardshipy as others’.
It’s not difficult to be thankful on Thanksgiving. We’re trained to give thanks today.
But what about tomorrow? For some, this is the most difficult season you’ve ever walked through while for others it’s the best year you’ve ever had. And some of us find ourselves somewhere in between.
There is a verse in psalms that always brings me hope. I actually have it written on a notecard and remind myself daily.
…but the Lord takes care of the godly…they will not be disgraced in hard times. Even in famine, they will have more than enough. (Psalm 37:17, 19)
The Lord takes care of the godly. Say that over and over again. Let it bring with it the peace that it’s soaked in. Whatever you’re facing and whatever you’re walking through, the Lord will take care of you.
If there’ s nothing else in your life to be thankful for right now, you can take hope and be thankful for this promise. The Lord will take care of you. He will not abandon you. He will walk with you through whatever you’re going through. You’re gonna make it.
I pray your Thanksgiving is happy, full of good food and family and love. And I pray tomorrow you’ll have the same.
Blessings….
toni
