By Jimmy Stopper
If your family is anything like ours, it is so easy to focus on the things we do not have. Our sinful hearts can long for more and more and more and are never satisfied with the things of this world because they were never meant to satisfy us. It is easy for our hearts to dwell on our sorrows, our wants, our limitations, how we wish things were different, our health, and the list goes on and on. We can easily complain about our circumstances. I asked each one of my family members to find a verse in the Bible on the topic of thankfulness. I asked them to write down one thing they are thankful for about God and one honorable quality that they see in each person that will be at Thanksgiving dinner.
On Thanksgiving night, after we have filled our belly with wonderful food, my family will pull out our papers. I will be sure to keep the TV off, all electronics (phones included) put away, and make sure no one leaves the table. One by one we will pull out our list, share the Bible verse, say who we are thankful for and in what way we have been blessed by them. For us our list will consist of God and all those that are around the table that night with us (dad, mom, sister, brothers, sons, daughters, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins).
It is so easy for us to take our God for granted and those He has placed in our lives. Let’s all celebrate God and those around us at the Thanksgiving meal.
I would love to hear how this went for your family, and what spiritual traditions you have with your family during Thanksgiving.
“…in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)