Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Thanksgiving
Okay - a more serious post this time. I have been thinking about, what else, Thanksgiving over the past week or two. At work, we had our homeroom ("T/A") students write in their journals about what they're thankful for. At church we are talking about thankfulness. I have even had some conversations with some of my friends about thankfulness.
So, here are some random thoughts about "Thankfulness". Are you ready?
First of all, did you ever notice that people talk about being "grateful" or "thankful" for things in their lives, but never express TO WHOM they are grateful or thankful? You know, people who say, "I am so thankful (substitute "grateful") for a wonderful family." So, is their thankfulness or gratefulness directed at empty space? Here's my take on the object of any gratitude or thankfulness. God, and God alone, is the giver of all good gifts. (James 1:17 "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.")
There's a song that I know that has the words, "God is good, all the time. And, all the time, God is good." Thinking about that song made me think about another aspect of gratitude or thankfulness. I ought to be thankful to GOD for EVERYTHING. Not just the things that most other people would consider to be "good". Thankful for difficulties in life because out of trials come strength and endurance. Thankful for the alone time that I don't like because it forces me to contemplate that I am never truly alone. Thankful for pain, physical or emotional or spiritual, because without pain, how could I even begin to appreciate Christ's greater pain on my behalf?
Philippians 4:6-7 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
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