Dear
Precious Moms,
This
month our country will set aside a day for giving thanks. A common
question during this holiday is, “What are you thankful for?”
Typical answers may include family, home, a job, health, food and
clothing. But for believers, thankfulness should go deeper. The
Apostle Paul wrote,
“Be
joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians
5:16-18, NIV).
In
all circumstances—even difficult ones? Even when we grieve or
suffer? Really God?
The
Bible is full of reasons to give thanks, what I’m sharing I hope
will show both depth and reward of thankfulness that recognizes all
God has done, even in the hard times.
As
I look back 9 years ago when I experienced the most difficult and
darkest time in my life. I got that knock on the door no one
wants, the day my only child, Tiffany, was killed in a car accident and
I was left breathless. I can honesty say the Apostles Paul’s word
was hard to conceive. How could I be thankful for such a tragedy?
I had a hard time
trusting God during this difficult time, even when I knew His
promises.
I
know from personal experience that it’s easy to become so
overwhelmed by whatever is happening to us that we forget God’s
promises—promises we’ve know and trusted most of our lives.
That’s why we need to turn to the Bible every day, so we won’t
forget them. We need to memorize God’s word so it’s deep in our
hearts.
But
it’s also important to maintain an attitude of thanksgiving in our
hearts, for it will keep us from forgetting God’s goodness and
faithfulness.
Often
it takes times of tragedy to remind us what really matters in life.
When things are going well, we can easily get preoccupied with what
we own. We become tied to so many nonessential, unimportant things.
We tend to grow overly concerned about cars, houses, furniture,
clothes and countless other trappings of modern life. We even tend to
be ungrateful and complain for the things we do have.
Even
though we are entering into the season to celebrate with family and
friends…I’m going to be honest: it’s still hard for me to be
thankful during the holidays. But as I have watched my Heavenly
Father transform my pain to purpose I can honestly say, “Lord…I
am thankful”. He has filled my heart with purpose and joy that I
cannot even explain.
So
this thanksgiving and holiday season, as the older women speaking to the younger woman…I
want you to remember that life itself is enough reason to praise God
and be thankful.
Blessings
to all,
Sandra
About smaddox
