When everyday becomes a day of Thanksgiving…

When everyday becomes a day of Thanksgiving… My introduction to Thanksgiving, as a child, was the history of it in the natural sense, coming together in celebration with family. It was a time of excitement and anticipation coupled with a whole lot of cleaning and the pealing of potatoes or whatever prep or post kitchen duties my ma assigned to me.

My mother was an amazing cook and as I look back…I suspect she had no room for error with a house full of family members preparing to join us for Thanksgiving Dinner, so my duties where specific, very clear instructions for pealing and cutting those potatoes and stirring her famous sour cream cake…with a spoon…not a mixer…that’s how she rolled…old school…everything from scratch. I will be making that same cake today…with the assistance of a mixer, though. However, I will not be pealing any potatoes. :) I can feel the excitement as I’m writing this. My parents are no longer here, neither are some of my mom’s siblings and their spouses, who gave thanks with us every Thanksgiving…but the joy that I experienced during those family gatherings is a permanent part of me.

As I grew, my parents taught me the spiritual aspects of Thanksgiving…as I’ve continued to grow…my Thanksgiving has become an everyday spiritual thing. Through the years, I have learned that even during the ‘what in the world’ moments…we have a choice…focus on the joy of what is or the sorrow of what isn’t. When we are feeling joy in our hearts…there is movement…laughing, singing, dancing…we are a positive force…moving upward and onward. When we are feeling the sorrow of what isn’t in our hearts…there is a lack of or minimal movement…it can be debilitating…robbing us of the strength that we need to walk through the doors that God has opened for us.

So, today, as with everyday…I choose to remain in a posture of gratitude…it opens the gateway for joy to flow through my heart…grateful to God for everything and everyone…counting my blessings and naming them during times of joy and sorrow…grateful to Him for loving us so much that He sacrificed His only Son, so that we might have a right to the tree of life…that is the ultimate sacrifice of love…the gift of a spiritual eternal life…I thank God for Jesus…

Have a wonderful season of Thanksgiving!