Thankful

As I was out walking around my neighborhood the other day, I came to the realization that the brilliant fall foliage is beginning to ... well …"fall". We ARE in November I mused, then came to the sudden realization that Thanksgiving was just around the corner. Ironically enough, I had just finished my Turkey day shopping but it STILL hadn't hit me untill I saw the growing number of bare tree limbs that winter was breathing down our necks. The telltale piles of leaves signal the journey towards yet another season.

Thanksgiving to me is the only holiday that always seems to herald the next. Every year, the Christmas decorations go up earlier and earlier (pretty soon you’ll be hearing caroling at Fourth of July picnics). Not that I'm complaining; I love the holiday season. It's just that as soon as Christmas and New Years pass in a blaze of glory, we're left with several dreary months of winter before the world reawakens with spring. For many, this winter is more than just a season. Some of us have lost loved ones, many of us still struggle through this "recovering" economy, and we ALL deal with the brokenness around us.

Despite the coming of winter, we still find time once a year to come together with family and friends to celebrate the giving of thanks.

Which makes me think. What am I really thankful for?

I am thankful for every morning that I awake beside my amazing wife.

I am thankful for my health.

I am thankful for the roof over my head and food in my pantry.

I am thankful for life in all its splendid diversity. I am thankful for my family and friends (the visible reminders of God’s grace and love for us) as well as for the knowledge that God indeed does care for us. I am thankful for the Cross. Not only for what it represents, but what it made possible:

The reunion of God and Humanity. The gift of life that is to be lived to the fullest.

Although the mercury is beginning to fall, I find that there is much to be thankful for. What is it that you are thankful for? How have you been blessed this past year? What are blessings yet to be realized, that you look forward to? How can we demonstrate our gratitude?

Joe


Related Verses
Colossians 3:1-17
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.

Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.