4 reasons that thanksgiving is underrated - 28 Nov 2013
“10,000 reasons for my heart to sing”
I remember singing this line from Matt Redman and feeling a deep conviction in my spirit to be a more thankful person. I promptly went out a purchased a little black book, the plan was to make an actual list of 10,000 reasons for my heart to sing – intense, maybe, but I have always been a rather intense person.
As with the best-laid plans of mice and men, I lost the little black book long before I reached the end of my list. The book may be gone, but the lessons I learned remain; so here are 4 reasons I think that thanksgiving is underrated.
1. Thanksgiving changes us
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
Melody Beattie
We live in a world where we are constantly being sold the recipe to happiness – maybe it comes with that new house, or with that sports car, surely I will be happy when I finally find that perfect partner. There is a deep longing in the human heart to be content; it’s just that contentment is always one purchase away.
But then we have a penniless carpenter-become-king, who displays to us the real secret to joy. Contentment is not found in having all things but giving thanks in all things. The truth is that we are not entitled to joy and yet God offers it to us a free gift, a gift unlocked in thanksgiving.
2. Thanksgiving is prayer
“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was ‘thank you’ that would suffice”
Meister Eckhart
Consistently the Bible reminds us that thanksgiving and prayer go together, in fact Psalms tells us to “enter his gates with thanksgiving”. How often do we approach God by saying thank you?
3. Thanksgiving starts something beautiful
Jesus often gave thanks before he did his most amazing miracles. Not many people would dare to say thank you when given one boy’s lunch to feed thousands. But Jesus looked at things differently and his ‘thank you’ started something beautiful. What could you be holding which is one ‘thank you’ away from becoming something beautiful?
4. Thanksgiving is attractive
No one wants to be friends with Scrooge.
Today is the American Thanksgiving and it provides a perfect opportunity to make you own list of 10,000 reasons. I dare you to become the most thankful person you know.