Thanksgiving

            Well it seems as though another year as gone by and the holiday season is upon us once again!  Where does all that time go?  Taking a step back and looking at this past year I cannot help by be awestruck by the over-abundance of blessings I have received in the past year.  God, as God always does, has blessed me so richly in my life, I know I do not thank God enough for all of everything that I have been blessed with.

            In this time of thanksgiving, gift giving, family gatherings, and holiday parties, do you find yourself taking a moment to stop and look around at how blessed you are?  Sometimes I think that we get so caught up in the busyness that we don’t take a minute to see God at work in our lives, especially in this season where we are supposed to be placing Jesus at the center of our focus.  The holiday season has been filled with things to distract us it seems.  Be it shopping, parties, commercials, commitments, work, school, kids, family, or the plethora of other things that I cannot name right now, our lives have been filled with good things, and yet we need to make sure that our focus is still where it needs to be.  Satan would have these things distract us, but let us, in this time, be mindful not of the gifts, but of the giver, keeping our focus on The Reason For The Season, giving God all the glory, honor, praise, and thanks!

            I wonder too in this time, if we bring this posture of thanksgiving into worship with us.  Do we come to worship God with thanksgiving overflowing from our hearts?  Or do we come because we want something for ourselves?  Are we worshiping out of the overflow of God’s grace in our lives?  Or are we here because we want to hear a certain song or music type?

            What about when there are distractions in the service?  Think of this: you’re sitting in a worship service, listening to the pastor, when the child in front of you pops up over the pew and starts playing with his action figures, making all sorts of childish exploding noises (in whispered tones of course).  Maybe you can recall a time when you were praying in church and a child started crying, or wailing due to some unforeseen disaster that had befallen her coloring picture.

            Perhaps you can remember a time when you were listening to a sermon and the words that you heard burned in your heart.  The sting you felt was deep, almost to the point of making you upset.  You’re mind starts to spin as you wonder how it is that the pastor knew your deepest secret, and how he/she dared say something like that so directly to you.

            What would your reactions be in these situations?  Take a moment to think about it before you read on…

            I wonder if thankfulness was the first thing that came to your mind.  It certainly wasn't for me, and yet the more I think about it, the more I realize that even these things fall in the realm of us being thankful.  We can be thankful that the Spirit is working in our lives, convicting us with the Truth of God’s Word.  We can be thankful that the church is learning new songs and that there are ways for all generations to express themselves in worship!  We can also be thankful that we are blessed with the opportunity to worship with our mothers and fathers, grandparents, children, grandchildren, and even great grandchildren.

            We can even be thankful for the abundant life that is in the church when a child cries or plays with toys.  Instead of giving sour looks at the child or the parents, smile and take a moment to thank God for new life and the energy that children bring into the church!

            We are so abundantly blessed!!  Be sure, in this busy holiday season, you make sure to take time to thank God for everything that God has blessed you with in your life!