Can you believe it’s almost Thanksgiving? My children have next week off from school to spend with family and friends and they cannot wait. I need to start making my grocery list for the big feast I’ll prepare.
In our house everyone wakes up and turns the television on to watch the parades while I work away in the kitchen. I love it! Everyone is relaxed; no one is in a hurry to be somewhere or do something. We’ll gather around the table around 2 p.m. and before we dive in, we’ll take time to go around the table sharing what we are thankful for this year. We’ll pray and thank the Lord for all He has done in us and through us in the past year.
As I reflected on Thanksgiving I realized we really should make every day a day of thanksgiving. Instead, we seem to always be busy, busy, busy….doing this, going there….it never seems to end. We carry the weight of the world on our shoulders and wonder if God is even listening to us if we pause long enough to tell him our sorrows.
He cares about what happens to us and He wants to hear our problems and sorrows. Philippians 4:6 tells us “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Psalm 55:2 says “Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.” 1 Peter 5:7 says “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
He also wants us to come to Him and celebrate when things are going well. Philippians 4:4 tells us to rejoice in the Lord always. It means we should cry out to Him in our times of trouble and cry out to Him in our times of joy and celebration. Our God is all about relationship. He wants to be there for you through the good times and the bad times. He is always there for you and forever faithful.
This week as you prepare for Thanksgiving, whether it’s by cleaning your house to prepare for family and friends, buying your groceries or making your shopping list for Black Friday, take some time to make a list of all of the things you’re thankful for and keep the list handy. You’ll find you will add to it throughout the week as the Lord prompts you. Then keep that list in your Bible so when things get tough and you think the Lord might have forgotten you, you’ll have your reminder of how much He loves you and how He has been with you in the past year.