Thanksgiving Thoughts

Crisp November afternoons invite us to begin thinking of Thanksgiving, and while I tried my hardest to “be creative” and write a Thanksgiving blog that would be different than your other reading choices this time of year, I’ve come to realize that it’s impossible. It’s impossible because, in the end, we need to be thankful. Our hearts crave it. So why shun this opportunity to say “thanks” to the people who make a difference, for the blessings we experience, for the pie we’re sure to eat, for our future successes and failures?

A rousing round of applause to the God who orchestrates the changing of seasons, both in nature and in our lives! We say can say “thanks, God,” for the triumphs and the heartache and the mundane moments that have made up the past year and will make up the next hour, the next day, and the next month. We can trust that all we encounter gives us the opportunity to experience the mystery of the grace and love of the Savior, who we have the opportunity to intimately know. In the end, that’s what life’s all about. That’s why we’re created. That’s why we exist – to praise Him, to make Him famous, to show gratitude with our lives by living out the love He’s shared with us.

As I think about some of the kids we work with here at Novo – kids like Ricardo and Ariel and Darius – I wonder what makes them say “thanks.” I wonder what I’d be thankful for if I were in their shoes. I’m not, but I could have been. I could be thankful that I live where I live or that I had the growing up experience I had, but then I realize that it all comes back to this – every human being on the planet can be thankful for the same thing. We can be overwhelmed with gratitude that the Creator of the Universe saw fit to reach past heaven’s boundaries and breathe life and love into our hearts. Our thankfulness and happiness no longer needs to be dependent on circumstances when we acknowledge that this earth-life is nothing in comparison to the praise-life to which He calls us.

So I’m thankful for this. I’m thankful that I’ve received this gift. I’m thankful that I experience it daily, even when I’m too stubborn or lazy or busy to acknowledge it. I’m thankful I get to spend time with kids like Ricardo, Ariel, and Darius who are still learning what all this amazing gift means and that I have the opportunity to speak it, live it, and share it with them. Come to think of it, I’m still learning, too. Thanks, God, for the little gifts that remind us of you. And thanks, God, for loving us enough to let us learn. Yes, God – thanks.

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” Psalm 100:4-5

What makes you say “thanks”? Leave a comment and let us know!