"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever."
{Psalm 136:1}
Today is Thanksgiving. A day which a lot of people see as the start of America, or simply just a day to eat a lot of food and not feel bad about it. Thanksgiving, today, is also so often just skimmed over; seen as just a small stepping stone between Halloween and Christmas. But Thanksgiving should be so much more than that, it should be a day that we actually give thanks, not just spend all day in the kitchen or watching football.
Thanks. What does that word mean, anyway? Webster's 1828 dictionary defines the word as an "expression of gratitude." but what does the Bible say about thanks?
"Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples!"
{1 Chronicles 16:8}
"And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, 'For He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.' And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord had been laid."
{Ezra 3:11}
"I will give to the Lord the thanks due to His righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High."
{Psalm 7:17}
"In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to Your name forever."
{Psalm 44:8}
"But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing."
{2 Thessalonians 1:3}
So there is a little bit of what God's Word says about thankfulness...that we are to give thanks to God, specifically because of all He has done for us and because His steadfast love endures forever. Today, in the festivities of Thanksgiving, I have been thinking about all that has changed and all the blessings God has placed in my life this semester, and so many things began filling my mind.
What am I thankful for?...
Life. I have come to realize that the only reason I stand breathing today is because of Christ. Lately, I have been reading through Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. I'm still in Philippians right now, but Paul hits the nail on the head a lot for me in this book. He really understood that the meaning and purpose of his life was not to pursue and satisfy the desires of his flesh, but to be transformed and seek out the desires of the Spirit.
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ..." {Philippians 1:21-27}
I long so much to live like Paul, or at least to grasp the gravity of my life as he did.
Grace & Patience. Lately, especially being at home for Thanksgiving break, I see my failures oh so clearly. The past few days, I have had the riddle of Romans resounding in my brains. "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin." {Romans 7:15-25} Sometimes I am not quite sure how, or why, God deals with me. His unending patience and overflow of extended grace bewilders me, and my mind cannot even begin to comprehend the magnitude of His love for me, His child, yet a sinner. That always brings to mind a line from my favorite hymn (How Deep the Father's Love for Us), "How deep the Father's love for us/how vast beyond all measure/that He would give His only Son/to make a wretch His treasure"
Family. I understand why God does not allow us to choose for ourselves who our family will be. We would probably choose some semi-normal people, who would provide for us, but ultimately be boring. My family is not, by any means, boring. I love my family...every member. I have a slightly different love and appreciation for each one of them.
For my dad, I appreciate the sacrifices I know he has had to make in his life to provide for his family. I appreciate the things he has taught me. How he has taught me how to check my car's oil; to spend my money wisely; and every bit of sarcasm that comes out of my mouth, I learned from him.
For my mom, I appreciate the things she has taught me, and her overwhelming care for me and my siblings. The recipes she has taught me to cook, the clothes she has taught me to wash, and the manners and respect she has taught me to hold.
For my sister, I appreciate (now) the room we shared for so many years, and the times she yelled at me to clean my room (although I guess it did not stick too much). Also, the lessons and things she taught me about boys and clothes, the chick-flicks we've watched together, and the craziness that she has brought to my life through many nights of dancing and singing in our once-shared room.
For my brother, he has taught me a lot. A lot of patience, and a lot of fighting, and a lot of love. He will probably never know how much I truly do love him. There have been some trying struggles, and some arguing over pointless things, but he has taught me many life lessons and a lot of things to do (and not to do) in the future.
People. Specific (or Atlantic) people in my life actually. Old ones, as well as new(er) ones. First, the old ones. Three girls who are completely irriplacable in my life. We have shared way too many memories and ridiculous times for even us to remember, but the ones we do remember are pretty amazing memories. These three girls have been with me through ups and downs, and even some sideways moments. They know me better than I know myself; they know when something is wrong, even if I can't admit it, and they know how to make me talk and explain myself, even when I really don't want to do so. I miss them terrible so far away in Jackson, Mississippi, but it will make our times together now so much more sweet.
New friends. Friends from all over the country (and at least one from another part of the world :) ) each one of them are such blessings to my life and have been little joys in my life all semester long. Some I have gotten closer to than others, some are still merely acquaintences, but each of them means something special to me, and I am beyond thankful that God has placed us all in the Belhaven bubble with each other where we can go through four years of life together.
One new friend in particular. I still am not completely sure why God brough him to me so quickly in the semester, or what He's doing through our lives, but one thing I do know is all he has taught me, and all that God has shown me through him. Struggles, new experiences, friendship, and a lot of laughter and happiness, lots of joy and growth and maturity.
Little things. If you know me, you know that I take extreme delight in random little things of life. Things like coffee and rainy days, sunflowers and sparkly things, Hello Kitty and little kids, a bible verse or my favorite songs, socks and headbands, ballet and frolicking. The list could really go on for quite a while if I kept going.
What are YOU thankful for this Thanksgiving?
