Thanksgiving Today and Forever

Happy Thanksgiving! This is one of those holidays that has nothing to do with Christ directly and yet I think He is so pleased when we take the time to be thankful! It is easy in life to forget the power of gratitude!

I work part time at a homeless shelter and the other night I intercepted an argument with two people who wanted the same blanket. The lady involved was particularly upset about not getting what she wanted and took the time, in detail, to let me know of her grievances. I stood there listening to an argument that I probably wouldn’t have accepted from my children, but then something incredible happened.

Another lady, new to the shelter that night, walked up with her blanket and said quietly to the woman, “Here. You can have my blanket. I woke up this morning with my eyes frozen shut from the rain and the cold. I am just grateful to have a warm place to sleep whether I have a blanket or not.” My eyes welled with tears…partly because no one should be frozen and wet when they need to sleep, but mostly because of her sweet spirit. I looked at her and said, “Thank you. Really, thank you. If you are cold tonight, I’ll get you two blankets!”

But then reality hit me like a ton of bricks. The upset woman turned to me, looked me in my tear-filled eyes, and started in again on her rant about her right to the blanket she wanted. Wow. What a contrast! Here I was positioned between entitlement and selflessness in an obvious and blatant light. And I know which one God was honored by!

We have two choices in life as well…to live as if Thanksgiving is everyday, with hearts that bend towards the best for others, or the opposite. One will bring blessing and one will constantly and routinely bring frustration at every turn for you. My heart is that you will rejoice on this Thanksgiving day for all that you have and then do the same tomorrow…and the day after that and the day after that.

All my love to you! Happy Thanksgiving!

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~Melody Beattie