From Jeffrey Gitomer’s newsletter #472 this week … "For many people, there is a genuineness about Thanksgiving. For me personally, it’s my favorite holiday. Friends and family gather around and give thanks for the meal, but I’ve always used it for a time of reflection. Who can I call to say hello to? Who do I wish was at the dinner that has passed away? What do I really need to be thankful for? And what actions will I take to show my thankfulness? That’s thanksgiving to me."
We each have our own observances, our own Thanksgiving traditions that are etched in our souls, mostly unchanging and integrated deep in our lives. We give thanks, perhaps in the same old ways, sincerely, not tired but maybe not as “fresh” as they were years ago.
What if we thought differently this year? What if we considered who we would love to have at our table with us? Maybe it is a family member or friend that has passed on. Maybe it is the neighbor that we don’t really know. Maybe it is a person that we admire from afar, or a person from history that we love. Maybe it is even a homeless family that can be truly thankful for food, friends and a warm place to share.
What if we prayed differently this year? What if we took a longer view of Thanksgiving, looking back and into the future? What if we considered all of the prayers of thanks that we have ever made, not just at Thanksgiving but every day, and all of the prayers of thanks we have yet to make. The more we pray, the more we realize that God is with us and always has been, and always will be. The song says it best … “Be not afraid, I go before you always, Come, follow me and I will give you rest.”
I pray that we "be not afraid" to ask for the grace to do God’s will in our days, whatever that means for us this Thanksgiving. I pray that we will always follow God and that, in Him and through his angels around us, we will find rest. Thanks be to God … that is my prayer this Thanksgiving.
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