It’s the morning of Thanksgiving and as usual, I’m the only one up.
There are things I have to do, things I need to cook, and all the other things that moms do to make Thanksgiving wonderful.
It is wonderful.
Not perfect, but wonderful.
I’m working on my list of things to be thankful for…
- God and His faithfulness. He won’t ever leave me, let go of me, or give up on me. I can’t express what that does to keep me moving forward every day of my life.
- My sweet man. He isn’t perfect, but he is so very wonderful. He has believed in me, loved me, held me, and shown me that love is more than talk.
- My children. They drive me batty one minute, fill me with passion the next, cause me to weep, and bring me to my knees at the feet of Jesus continuously. They remind me that life is good, and yes, life can hurt, but mostly, life was meant to be shared so a piece of me could live on after I’m gone.
- My parents. I’m thankful for years of faithfulness represented in these two people. Faithful to God, faithful to each other, and yes, faithful to a girl even when she was unfaithful to them all.
- My church. On the hard days, I cry or complain. But the rest of the days, I remember the pleasure it is to stir people to love God more and watch them grow. I remember that nothing else really matters but the people around me and making sure that they know how much He loves them and why they should keep going, even when it’s hard.
- My job. I confess I wept, rather than rejoiced, when I decided to head back into the workforce after eleven years of life with kids. I wept for those eleven years and those 3 kids that I miss like crazy. I wept because I had to find new dreams. So I beg God every day to help me carry the hope and love and faithfulness of Jesus outside the walls of my home and my church. And yesterday that thankful text from that sweet mama going through hard times, reminded me that God is hearing my cry every day as I learn to dream again.
There is so much more…but as I go through today’s thanksgiving list, I look at another list that began two years ago.
Like most traditions, it was an act of faith as I began with the stroke of a pen to move from simple thanksgiving once a year to living a daily sacrifice of thanks-living.
She told me it would help bring God near.
She said it would always remind me to worship.
It did, but I had no idea that it would also change me. I had no idea how it would carry me through some of life’s toughest moments.
Moments where so many things had to come to an end.
On the darkest days, I had to reach deep and search hard but always, always there was something I could write.
And when I found the strength to write, God reminded me, as He came near, that I could also find the strength to keep going.
I was reminded that worship could always dispel the darkness.
When I couldn’t see in the dark, thanks-living helped me turn on His light so I could see and remember that no matter how dark it looks, He is the light that always breaks through the darkness.
Thanksgiving and thanks-living changes us. It reminds us words like hope, and love, and faithfulness can still live on, even when things are hard. It forces to reach deep and keep believing that no matter what comes and no matter what goes, we can still embrace new dreams and new days by His grace.
His grace.
I pray you take a few moments to dig deep and remember.
Remember His grace in your life. Remember how He carried hope and love and faithfulness into your world. Remember that His grace will carry you today, tomorrow, and every day after that, until He carries you home.
Remember the people and things He has brought into your life to change you.
From my home to yours, I pray you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. And I pray you, too, discover thanks-living.
For no matter what you face, there is always enough grace to give thanks.
