Today, I want to share an excerpt from my new devotional, Echoes of Joy: A Thankful Heart. As we enter November, I hope you will be inspired to take a few moments each day to focus on gratitude and give thanks to the One from whom all blessings flow.
Day 1
Overlooking Thanksgiving
“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” (Col. 3:14–15)
The holiday season seems to get busier each year. With Thanksgiving sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas, we rush past it as we go from buying candy and costumes to baking goodies and trimming the tree. We squeeze in Thanksgiving dinner so that we can move on to Black Friday shopping and the bigger celebration of Christmas.
We often forget how much we have to be thankful for because we are already looking past the turkey and trimmings and shopping for the perfect present for our kids, practicing for the Christmas program, and making candy to give to the neighbors.
It’s important to slow down and thank God for the blessings of abundance he has given us. In the past, we’ve taken for granted the ease of traveling long distances to see family, of large gatherings in one place, and of purchasing all our food staples at once. If the COVID-19 global pandemic has shown us anything, it’s how precious these things are and how quickly they can be stripped away.
When we sit down with our families to eat, we soak in the gift of gathering and give thanks that the grocery store had the items we needed. Whether we travel across town or across the country, we express our gratitude at having the means and opportunity to make such a trip with family awaiting our arrival. As the kids fuss and play while the adults catch up on the latest news, we thank the Lord for the blessing of family—those who get along and those who don’t—and try to put aside grudges for the day.
With the Lord’s help, we focus on today’s blessings and not neglect giving thanks.
Dear Jesus, thank you for the things we’ve taken for granted—traveling, gathering with family, and having plenty of food on the table. Show us what’s important for this moment. Amen.
If you enjoyed this excerpt, you can find the entire devotional here, along with the other devotionals in my Echoes of Joy series.
It helps to be reminded of the importance of thankfulness. My family lives far away and I travel before or after holidays to visit. Gathering together is what I enjoy, as the purpose of holidays is not to impress others.
Beautiful. Males me miss the holiday meals of my childhood. Sometimes just the four of us. Sometimes driving from New Mexico to Oklahoma to visit grandparents.