Instead, be filled with the Spirit … 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:20)
I have a Thanksgiving invitation for you. No, I am not inviting you to join me for Thanksgiving dinner this Thursday. I expect that you already have plans for Thanksgiving Day, even if it is not your usual plan. Nevertheless, I do want to invite you to join me in one or two of my “new” Thanksgiving traditions. It occurred to me that I really don’t give thanks very much on Thanksgiving Day. Someone in my family always offered a prayer of thanks before the meal and in some years we all went around to say what we were thankful for. But actually, giving extended thanks to God is not something that fit into our usual Thanksgiving habits. As I reflected on it, I realized that I was missing out on the role Thanksgiving could serve in my life. It could be an occasion for intentional reflection on all the ways God had blessed me and a time to offer thanks to God more deeply and fully than usual. So, I’d like to invite you to join me in a couple of traditions that I came up with, if you are so inclined. First, I no longer consider the Thanksgiving holiday as only one day. Rather, I think of it as a week-long celebration. Beginning on the Monday before Thanksgiving Day, set aside time each day for deliberate gratitude. Try to pay attention to the gifts you are enjoying in the present moment, including life, health, warmth, beauty, good smells, restful music, etc. And tell God “Thank You” for these gifts. Moreover, listen to Thanksgiving-themed music (for instance, “We Gather Together,” “All Creatures of Our God and King,” and “Simple Gifts.”) Or watch the episode of The West Wing called “Shibboleth.” Activities such as these prime our hearts for the next practice. Second, at some point during the week of Thanksgiving, often early on Thanksgiving morning, spend an hour or so writing down everything for which you thankful, especially things from the past year. In your journal, begin with: “Dear God, I thank You for . . .” and then start writing. Much of it may be obvious. Thank God for family (name each person) and for blessings they’ve received in the last year in addition to their impact on your life. Thank God for life, health, home, and work. Think of people who have meant a lot to you in the past year, like your colleagues or those who have been there for you. After a while, branch out and thank God for good things that have happened in the world in the last year. Let your mind wander freely as you jot down all that you are thankful for. And make sure to mention big things like salvation through Christ, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and so forth. As you do this, a couple of things inevitably happen. First, you end up thanking God for things that you had previously taken for granted. Whether major or minor, they are worthy of gratitude to God. The second thing that happens you will begin to fell an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Even in difficult years with painful losses, we realize just how gracious God has been to us, how generous and kind. Humbled and joyful, we are moved by our experiences of God’s goodness. We become filled with true thanksgiving. I realize that, because of your life situation, you may not be able to join in this gratitude practice on Thanksgiving morning. You may be busy preparing a meal or caring for your young children. That’s just fine. The precise timing of creating your “Thank You” list doesn’t matter. But let me encourage you to see if you can protect one hour sometime during this week for an extended session of giving thanks. Your heart needs it. The Lord deserves it. And doing this will make your celebration of Thanksgiving so much richer. May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving week! Comments are closed.
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