Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.
Psalm 107:21-22 (NLT)
It has been a crazy, busy week. I decided to have a Thanksgiving Supper for several of our friends and neighbors this weekend because I’m not hosting dinner on Thanksgiving Day. These folks carried the flashlight for us during a long and, at times, difficult journey this year.
I asked each guest to come prepared to share a Thanksgiving memory. As I think about my past holidays, snapshots pop into my mind: a little girl waiting for dinner to be served at my grandparent’s house with aunts, uncles, and cousins seated at various tables. I also see my kitchen, pots bubbling, the special smell of cooked turkey permeating the entire house, the table set with china, crystal and candles, and friends and family standing around and chatting in anticipation of the dinner. Then there was the phone call a couple of years ago from my mother who lived several hundred miles away. She didn’t feel well and after checking on her several times during the day, I encouraged her to go to the hospital. The story ends with the diagnosis of a blood clot on her brain because of a fall on Thanksgiving morning while getting out of bed. Although she survived the surgery, she never left the hospital and slipped into the arms of Jesus a couple of weeks later.
My life’s photo album is probably not much different from yours. Some events are prints blown up to an 8 by 10 while others are stuck in the back of the album. Yet the Psalmist did not hesitate to give thanks and praise for the wonderful things the Lord had done for him. David’s life story is filled with intrigue, heartache, and discouragement, yet God calls him a man after His own heart. I encourage you to read David’s story beginning in 1 Samuel 16 and learn of his walk with God.
At this special time of year, take some time and reminisce a little. Make a list of all the wonderful things God has done for you and give Him a big THANK YOU. Have a memory to share?