There are many obvious things that we give thanks for -
our family, our friends,
sense of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste,
our speech, our health, our hands, our legs, our mind,
kind strangers, the sun, moon and stars, rain and snow (well, maybe not as much),
rainbows, oxygen, our church, animals, books, shoes, music,
our bed, our home, laughter, life, our job,
our talent, our gifts, color, a parking space, a bargain, etc;
the list goes on and on and on and on......
But what about giving thanks for things that we don't commonly think of when we are making up our lists?
Give thanks for:
- Our mistakes - they help us to learn how to say "I'm sorry"; they help us to grow as a person and they teach us how to lean on the Lord.
- Heartbreak - it helps us to mature into a more compassionate person.
- Relational conflict - it reveals our blind spots and the ugliness of our hearts that drives us to God; for only He can change a heart.
- Life's challenges - they help us to grow in the character of God.
- Our tears - they help us express our deepest emotions.
- Our fears - they help drive us to God and teach us to overcome.
- Disappointment - it teaches us to accept ALL as from God's hands, trusting Him.
- Our pain - it helps us become stronger.
As I reflected on this, I heard this song on the radio:
"What if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near?
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?
What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy?
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?
Yes, indeed, what if? If we don't accept all as coming from His hands, we could miss the very blessing He wants to pour out! As we give thanks, let's give thanks for both the ugly and the beautiful; knowing that God transfigures the ugly into the beautiful.
Accepting ALL as from His hands because we don't give thanks based on how we feel but because of who He is!
Accepting ALL as from His hands because we don't give thanks based on how we feel but because of who He is!
Happy, Blessed Thanksgiving to you and yours!
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