“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.”
Revelation 7:12
The holiday season is upon us! From now until 2023, we enter into the marathon of holidays. For many of us, this means parties, meals, company, shopping, presents, preparation, and maybe even a little bit (or a lot) of stress.
Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season on November 24. This is the day where we gather together with loved ones to express our gratitude for all the blessings we receive, eat a delicious meal, watch the Lions lose, I mean play, maybe take a nap, and possibly even start to think about some Christmas shopping. In all honesty, sometimes that gratitude portion is put on the back-burner or skipped over all together in the hustle and bustle of the day.
It’s not that we AREN’T grateful, of course we are! But, do we take the time to name what we’re grateful for? Do we take time to voice and identify the ways we are blessed? Or do we get caught up in the day—making last minute preparations, watching parades or football, eating so much turkey that we wake up from our post meal nap in a haze?
If that sounds like your day, don’t worry—there’s nothing wrong with making the last minute preparations (someone has to do it!), watching parades and football, or even eating so much turkey that you’re hazy after your nap! Embrace those traditions and whatever other traditions you and your loved ones established for this day because those are important too. However, I challenge you (and myself) to carve out some time on turkey day to sit and reflect on what you’re grateful for, who you’re grateful for, and let God know how thankful you are for them, and let those people who you are grateful for know how much they mean to you.
If we approach Thanksgiving with grateful hearts bursting with the knowledge of how blessed we are and voice those blessings, it will make all the traditions of the day, all the company of the day, all the more special.
So, start today – For what and for whom are you grateful for this Thanksgiving? Name those blessings. Voice those blessings.
Make this holiday season special by approaching it with a grateful heart.
Prayer Before a Thanksgiving Meal
Good and gracious God,
You have blessed us in ways unimaginable and we are grateful!
You have given us people to love and who love us and we are grateful!
We come together today to celebrate you and the ways your have blessed us.
We ask that you bless our Thanksgiving meal and all the hands that prepared it, that it might nourish us.
We ask that you bless our conversations, that they might nourish our relationships with one another.
We ask that you bless our memories, especially of those who have joined you in eternal life, that they might live on in our celebrations.
We pray in a special way for all those who do not have enough to eat or those who are alone today, that they might be comforted.
We rejoice in your abundant goodness and thank you!
We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen!
