"...in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18
In an hour or so I will be going to my mother and father's house. We will have coffee, and laugh about the ridiculous bureaucracy which has become my job, and my mother and I will make yeast rolls. Stuffing. Pumpkin creme caramel. It will be a time of thanksgiving before Thanksgiving itself arrives.
But, I am also thinking of my friend down the street who is laying face down at her kitchen table because she had surgery on her eye a week ago, and "the gas bubble at the back of my eye must be on top."
I'm thinking about our pastor who lost his 32 year old wife on Friday when she collapsed while dressing for work at 4:00 in the morning. She died in the hospital of a heart condition she'd been born with.
I think of the two co-workers who have lost their fathers this fall, along with my good friend and his wife who each lost their fathers in October.
Sometimes, we come to the table feeling less than thankful.
How is it then, that we are to give thanks in everything? Maybe it is for what we cannot see, in a situation which only looks dreadful from the outside. I remember Corrie Ten Boom telling her sister (in The Hiding Place) that they should give thanks for everything, even the horrendous bugs which bit and tormented them as they were held in a concentration camp during WWII. Yet, these very bugs kept them from being pulled by the officials for something even worse.
I am convinced that we need to give thanks for everything, for the spirit of hope that giving thanks automatically calls forth. And, for the unseen good which is being worked out in our behalf.
No matter where you are, in spirit or in country, I pray a very blessed Thanksgiving for each of you.