Thankful, Day Seventy

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100, NKJV

Once day a year, America takes a day off from work for the giving of thanks. It's always the fourth Thursday in November, and we celebrate the survival of the Pilgrims through their first winter, summer, and harvest. We watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, sit down to a feast unlike anything we experience all year long, join hands around the table to say "Thanks God for all this stuffing", and then while nursing our swollen bellies and heartburn, we watch the Dallas Cowboys throw away another game they should have won.

Then Friday rolls around and the kids are fighting, the inlaws aren't talking, we're tired of turkey, and we can't wait for Monday so we can go back to work and hope things just go back to the way they were before this wretched holiday.

Now I'm not describing my personal Thanksgiving celebrations in particular, but I'd imagine that alot of people in alot of places experience it just the way I've described it. So what about the other 364 days of the year? I'm beginning to think that celebrating Thanksgiving every day might not be such a bad idea.

Of course, I'm not talking about turkey and football. I'm talking about a continual giving of thanks to God who has done so much for me, and continues to do so. This exercise in gratitude has truly impacted my life...and can I tell you that it actually started on Thanksgiving? On the very day when most of us were bloated with sweet potatoes and cornbread dressing, God began to do a work in me that I have yet to see the end of.

I don't have the time or the energy to tell you about the last six months of 2010...but suffice it to say it was a dark and lonely time for me. It was perhaps the biggest crisis of faith I have ever had in my life. It started with me being obedient to the instruction of God, and then failing to trust that He was truly working out all things for my good and His glory--and that's my life verse! That's the Scripture I hold onto at all times with both hands. I kept saying it with my mouth, but my heart could not see how THIS was going to work out well. And then Thanksgiving rolled around, and I got sick and was unable to celebrate in the way I had planned, and I spent most of the day on my couch watching disaster movies and sleeping.

After midnight, I sat down at my computer to blog--you can scroll back and check this out--and gave thanks to God for things that had happened to me, and people that had happened to me. But my blog wasn't enough. I needed some people to know how much I loved and appreciated them. So I sent out some notes. As it happens, one of those notes was an answer to someone's prayer. And from one simple note of thanks has come a world of blessing.

I have to tell you...I didn't feel like giving thanks. I'm not sure it was really in my heart to do so, but it was Thanksgiving after all. And shortly after that I began this 100 day exercise in giving thanks. Which has only increased the blessings of God in my life! I think I'm going to keep on giving thanks, and keep watching what God does. It's so much better to let Him work...because, after all, He doesn't really need my help.

God, I'm so very thankful for the prompting of your Holy Spirit to do the unthinkable, for the boldness to take a step of faith, and for the inspiration to express just the right thought.

God, I'm so thankful for the seeds that have been sown, that you have watered and shined down upon, that have now sprouted and are beginning to peek through the soil of my life.

God, I'm so thankful for the anticipated harvest that you have promised, that you are bringing to fruition.

It's a slow process, Lord, and I'm thankful you're still working on me. Please get me ready for that harvest!