Happy Thanksgiving!

by Brandy Webb

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psa 118:24).

Thanksgiving is right around the corner for America, and I thought it would be a good thing to write about being thankful. I know that not everyone who reads my blog celebrates Thanksgiving, but that shouldn’t stop us from being thankful anyway.

I believe that there is always something to thankful for in our lives, even if it is small. I know that I take for granted many things in my life that are blessings. I also know that when I am down, it is easy to get into a rut where you don’t want to be thankful. Well, today I want to make a thankfulness list of blessings that I overlook. I am not listing them in any particular order of importance.

I am thankful for the ability to write this blog. I am also thankful for the computer that allows me to write this blog, and having internet access, so I can send this to Jeff via email. Oh, and that reminds me, that I am thankful for Jeff, who is the one with the technical knowledge to put this blog online and add pictures.

I am also thankful for the blessing of inside plumbing. There are many people in this world that do not have the luxury of indoor plumbing. They have to go and get water that may not even be safe to drink, on a daily basis, when all I have to do is go to my sink and turn on a faucet.

I am thankful for my family and friends. They keep me in line, love me despite my faults and shortcomings, forgive easily, and bring me bounds of joy. Life would be hard to go through without them.

I am thankful for the ability to see, to read, to write, to hear, to sing, to walk, to talk, to feel, etc… I am also thankful for trials. I don’t enjoy them, but I’m thankful for them because without them, I wouldn’t know what peace and joy really are.

I am thankful for creation. To see God’s art work every day reminds me that there is a Creator. I think the second stanza of “How Great Thou Art” says it best:

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee; How great Thou art!
How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!  

I am also thankful that I am alive. I know that I take being alive for granted. It is probably the biggest blessing in my life that I take for granted the most, and it is a major blessing that I need to stop overlooking. Each day that I get to wake up and breathe is a blessing from God—even if the day itself is full of trials—because I have another day to say I love you to someone, to ask for forgiveness, to rejoice in my Savior, to laugh, to cry, to make mistakes, and to correct my mistakes.

I realize that there are many things in my life that I can give thanks for, and this list is definitely unfinished. So, regardless if you keep Thanksgiving or not, let us “give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!” (Psa 107:1).