Thankful for the blessings
By CHERYL CRUCE
Thanksgiving Day is dawning as today’s paper is being placed in distribution centers, mailboxes, and on family dining tables. In most homes, the kitchen is filled with sights and sounds that echo the laughter and joy of family gatherings. Enticing desserts are sampled as a banquet table of delicious food is set. Excitement fills the home with reasons for thanksgiving as family members arrive from different destinations.
I am thankful every day for the blessings I receive – husband, home, children, grandchildren, and warmth of family. I am grateful for my community, church, and friends; my puppy snuggled beside me. I am thankful for the breath of life and the restoration of the soul. My thanksgiving list is an unending collection of good happenings accumulated over a lifetime.
Where does this moment find you? Thanksgiving is a day set aside to remember the blessings of grace afforded to us by the Lord. What are you most thankful for? If we were to compare lists, we would find similar items, reflecting who we are. We all desire the pleasures and comforts of life, such as home and family warmth. The holidays are a joyous time that reminds us to count our blessings.
Nevertheless, as cheerful as the season may be, the festivities are often dampened by the loss of a loved one or a life-altering illness. Somewhere there is a soldier who longs to be home with family and a family who longs for a soldier. Everywhere we look, people are cold, hungry, and homeless. These struggles of life are also an inventory of who we are. What do we do when the table and the faces in our home do not look like the Publix commercial? How do we count our gains when Hallmark reruns remind us of our losses?
We count our gains by realizing heartaches will come our way, and even though life changes, our hope remains in the Lord. The Lord draws near the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). We only need to trust in Him and lean into His understanding, not our own (Proverbs 3:5-6). We do not have to be brave all the time. There is nothing wrong with allowing yourself a time of longing for a loved one. Jesus cried at the tomb of His friend Lazarus. When we are in our weakest moments, it is the strength of the Father that carries us. He gives His angels charge over us, lifting us above the stones of life (Psalm 91:11).
If you find yourself struggling with the holiday, allow the Father’s love to become your greatest comfort. Our Lord often sent angels to care for His children, trust in His presence today. If you find strength in His word, then become the angel, and strengthen your brother or sister through the gift of prayer and presence.
Mother Theresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” We have so much to be thankful for. What small thing can you do today that can become a great thing for someone else? It doesn’t take much to be the encouragement needed. The simplest gestures can change a person’s perspective. You can become God’s conduit of grace to someone who is struggling. Be that small thing with great love that is needed.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. The Lord is good, and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:4-5
Cheryl Mixon-Cruce is Pastor of Ochlockonee Bay United Methodist Church and Sopchoppy United Methodist Church.