Another year has flashed by and once again it’s time to stop, at least for a day, and remember to give thanks.  Typically, we do this by getting together with family and or close friends and share a table full of food, and enjoy a time of fellowship and remembrance.  That’s our plan for this year, and due to family member’s travel plans and schedules, it looks like we’ll get to do it twice!

In many ways, it’s my favorite holiday.  Even if the passage of time has caused us to forget the original reason Thanksgiving began, it should be easy to remember and reflect on the reason that we continue it.  We have been blessed beyond measure, and seldom do we take the time to stop and remember the countless ways we have been blessed.  The blessings in my life continue to be my wife and daughters and their husbands, my parents, and my extended family.  I am also grateful for health and work and the means by which I can share and give to others.  The list could go on and would get very lengthy.

The heartfelt emotion of gratitude has to be directed somewhere, and I sometimes wonder where most people direct it.  We are grateful to the people in our lives who love us and demonstrate their love and caring in various ways.  Maybe you know someone who has made a real difference in your life this past year.  But hopefully the eyes of your heart are open to see the true origin of every good and perfect gift, and that’s God himself.  Nothing we have, nothing we have become, and nothing we will ever do of lasting value would be possible except through God’s blessing. 

And the ultimate and lasting blessing is the gift of Jesus Christ.  He gave up his place in the heavenly realm, came to us in our fallen world, and then willingly paid a debt for us that we could never pay on our own.

If you’re going through a really tough time right now and find it difficult to be truly grateful, please remember this one blessing from God.  In it, you will ultimately have everything you will ever need.

See you at the finish line.