Giving Thanks

It's hard to believe it is that time of year again.  Halloween is officially over and now it is time to move towards the holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  For those of you who know me, the holiday season cannot come soon enough.  I love this time of year and absolutely love the honor of making the holidays a cherished time for my family.  I always find it ironic, though, that Thanksgiving tends to be the DAY that we give thanks for all the wonderful things that happen in our lives.  The irony is that Thanksgiving should be a daily event.

When the children were all home (and that seems light years away for some reason), we used to write on a slip of construction paper what we were thankful for each day of November.  We would then take those slips of paper and construct them into a beautiful paper chain.  Imagine, with six of us, it was quite the chain, streaming around the kitchen.  I terribly miss those days and it seems as if the last couple of years, as children have either left the house to move onto their own lives or are at school, our paper chain tradition has diminished.

Although sad, it also makes me realize we don't need to have the paper chain to be reminded of all the good God has done for us.  It can, and should, be a daily event.  Many of you give thanks each and every day to God - that is a blessing I'm sure not just to God, but to you as well.  This is an area I need to do a better job with - and I'm encouraging all of us to do so.  Giving thanks seems to be something that can be easy to do - when we know, see, and feel the good things that God is doing in our lives.  Where it becomes difficult is when the good things don't seem to be with us.  I'm sure you know what I'm speaking of - those days when NOTHING seems to be going right and EVERYTHING seems to be going wrong.  It's hard on those days to find the good.  It's there - it truly is there.

I know that feeling.  I remember the days when I thought that there truly was nothing I could be thankful for; days when I even questioned if God was nearby.  Those were very difficult days and it was hard on those days to see the blessings of God in my life.  He was there, at each step.  Many times, we need to go through the difficult days to get to the good days.  This reminds me of Joseph (yes, the Technicolor dream coat one).  Joseph endured many years of slavery and heartache of rejection by his family., but it was all part of God's plan - His wonderful plan to bring goodness to Joseph and his family. 

It can be hard to see the goodness and blessings that God has for us.  If we continue to put our focus on God and not take our eye off of Him, we can see what we can be thankful for each and every day, then we will see that God is good and we should give him thanks EVERY day.  My heart reaches out to each and every one of you that during this November Thanksgiving season - and every day of the year - you will find the goodness that God has placed in your life.  Look for it, recognize it, and give thanks to God almighty that He provides for you - always.

"Dearest God - THANK YOU never seems to pass my lips enough to you.  You, the great giver, who always has every detail of my life in concert with the world, deserves thanks each and every day.  May my eyes recognize all the goodness you give to me every day, may my heart reach out to you, may my mouth share praise to you, and may my soul rejoice with you.  In your heavenly name, Amen!"