PRACTICE: Take a moment to reflect on the word thanksgiving. Is it a verb (state of being) or noun (a thing) in your life?
I was driving down a country road shortly before Thanksgiving…I drive on a lot of country roads …and in my part of the country, churches are plentiful. Big or small, they all have a sign that displays their name and a short “inspirational” thought. Mostly I find the messages just plain corny. Every now and then, one will either prick my heart or cause me to scratch my head. This one pricked my heart, “Thanksgiving (noun) is not a day. Thanksgiving (verb) is a lifestyle."
I think of myself as a thankful person, but I had never identified or claimed thanksgiving as a lifestyle. I believe we are what we say we are. I believe that words describe us, and our actions validate the words. Why is this important? If I view thanksgiving as a lifestyle, then I am more likely to be able to give thanks for the blessed good life that I live when everything is coming up rosy and live with thanksgiving in my heart when I hit those places where life is just plain difficult. I began to think of the other lifestyles that I freely claimed i.e. healthy, active, environmentally conscious, and was dismayed that thanksgiving as a lifestyle had not made the list.
That single sign changed my thought process both retrospectively and presently. I have experienced some incredibly difficult times over the last few years. I have been stretched and challenged by the death of multiple siblings, medical scares, difficult relationships, work etc. I have had some incredibly awestruck and amazing experiences (northern lights).
As I have reflected on both the painful and the good, I am able to appreciate ALL of it with a heart of thanksgiving. I believe that the retrospective analysis has propelled me to claim thanksgiving as a lifestyle in the present. There were lessons learned that perhaps I would have missed had it not been for the death of my loved ones or the experience of seeing ravages of the lack of healthcare in another country. I would like to believe that my demeanor and actions on a daily bases validate my thanksgiving lifestyle regardless of the circumstances of the day. I am a work in progress. I would love for you to join me.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
PONDER THIS THOUGHT – Thanksgiving is more than a holiday.
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