"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 107:1
There's this little holiday between Halloween and Christmas. Maybe you've heard of it, it's called Thanksgiving.
It's easily overlooked because store aisles and coffee cups skip over a lot of turkey day decor and jump right into lights, ornaments and all things Santa. They even start Christmas movies on cable networks as of November 1st.
I don't mention any of that because I am opposed to jumping into the joy that is the Christmas season. I love Christmas and all that it represents. And I'm a sucker for all those cheesy Christmas flicks on the Hallmark channel.
But I love Thanksgiving. Its actually one of my favorite holidays. I'm sad that now that I live so far away it isn't spent with my whole family squished into my mom and dad's house laughing over our shenanigans, yelling at the football game or playing some two hand touch in the yard. I will miss sitting down to eat together and then doing it all again like 4 hours later when we want round two. But from my location I will enjoy cooking with my girls and stuffing our faces before finding a new holiday tradition of our own. (We will be going to the movies!)
Beyond food and family I have been thinking a lot about Thanksgiving as a season, not just a day, of giving thanks.
Gratitude is too often lacking. We live in a culture that grows more and more entitled. It focuses so much on having that next cool thing that we have lost the art of appreciating what we already have.
I'm trying to teach this to my daughters. Its okay to want things. Its not okay to want them so badly that it negatively affects our attitude or steals our joy in the blessings that surround us.
And we are blessed.
Whether you have your dream house or car or bank account. Whether you got those cute shoes or latest gadget you wanted. You are blessed because you are the child of a God who loves you. He loves you beyond what you can even imagine. And no matter what circumstances you face, good or bad, His love remains constant. No matter your wants, that love is the ever-present fulfillment of all of your needs.
Why?
Because He takes care of you. Not always in the way you might think is best, but always in the way that is best. Because His love isn't just this thing in the temporal now, but it is ever pushing forward into the eternal. It was in our past, it lives in our present, and it propels us into a bright future.
I want to live a life of thanksgiving. Whether I get everything on my Christmas list or not. I want my heart to always be grateful for all that God has given me. I want my daughters to grow up with that same heart, always thankful for their Father's love. And I don't want it to just be posts that I drum up to fulfill a Novemeber social media obligation. I want everyday to count my blessings and offer genuine thanks for them. I want to live with eyes that don't see all I think I'm missing, but are full with all I have.
The greatest blessing of which will forever be His love.