“Give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
– 1 Thessalonians 5:18
– 1 Thessalonians 5:18
When the Pilgrims first prepared that infamous feast and came together to
unite in fellowship with the Native Americans, I wonder if they realized the
impact that moment would have on generations upon generations that came after
them. Although their Thanksgiving
celebration lasted three days, many of the Thanksgiving traditions we celebrate
today – eating, playing games, fellowshiping, giving thanks – were all a part
of that very first Thanksgiving! It’s
truly a testament to their story that an event that happened in 1621 could span
the course of time and still be virtually identical for millions of others in
2014.
For the attendees to that First Thanksgiving feast, it wasn’t so much
about the food, but rather the coming together of two completely different
parties as they worked together to live their lives in unity with one
another and through some pretty difficult circumstances - famine, harsh winter, and even death. It was about gratefulness of
not only being alive and with family, but also thankfulness of fellow man and
in working together to accomplish something beneficial. I think that especially today with all of the
unrest in our nation in places like Ferguson, MO, among others, that is
something we can most definitely pray for and hope happens today.
Life Itself
I’m thankful for each breath I take and each moment I am alive. I’m thankful for family and friends that
surround and encourage me, who let me cry on their shoulders, who laugh and are
sarcastic with me, and who pray for me every day. I’m thankful for experiences that have shaped
me and guided me to the path I walk today.
I’m thankful for life.
This year so many in my church and community have lost loved ones and are spending this Thanksgiving without them - my heart hurts for these sweet friends and I pray God's love to overwhelm them today. Also within the past month or two, I’ve watched friends and fellow believers in
Christ walk through the loss of a loved one who took their own life. Of course the circumstances that led to that
moment are something I know nothing about and even that the family members may
know nothing about this side of heaven; but to come to a point where life
itself isn’t worth living has to be a place of such intense and extreme loneliness
and sadness – even if you are surround by a loving and supportive family. It’s something that doesn’t make sense at all
and my heart breaks for those, believers and unbelievers, going through the
feeling today of not being thankful for life.
May they know that the one who gives eternal life is right there holding
their hand ready to walk through the difficult and lonely times with them. May they feel his peace today and every day and
be surrounded by love and encouragement.
The Romeike family
I am thankful for miracles and that God hears the cries of His people
and answers them. Earlier this year, I
blogged about some sweet friends – the Romeike family; check out “Modern Day Pilgrims.” Truly the members of this
family are modern day pilgrims in our nation.
Just like the Plymouth Rock Pilgrims, the Romeike family came to America
to escape religious persecution in their country. They left everything and everyone they ever
knew to come to a place to raise their family in the way of the Lord, something
they were unable to do in their native country.
Over the past few years, they fought legal battles and this year it
came to a head as their case reached the US Supreme Court. Would they be granted amnesty or would they
be deported? So many individuals all
over the country, but most especially our community, prayed that they would be
granted amnesty. The verdict came back and
stated that the final ruling stood – deportation. It made absolutely no sense that we as a
nation founded upon principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
could not see the similarities of this family to that of the Pilgrims and grant
them this freedom that they so desperately wanted. So we prayed…all of us…a nation of us…that
God would work a miracle even when it certainly didn’t seem like one could happen. The very next day, God answered our prayers
and the very administration who fought so hard against the Romeike family granted
them indefinite deferred action status which meant they could permanently stay
in the US. Truly it was a miracle. Today the Romeike family…with their sweet “Peanut”
pictured with me below…celebrate Thanksgiving with a pretty awesome reason to
be thankful.
Servant Hearts
I’m thankful to live among fellow family and friends who seek to live
with servant hearts. I’m thankful that
when someone sees a need, they do their best to meet it. I’m thankful that I am able to encourage
children to live with servant hearts and that they listen and take initiative
to minister to others. I cherish the
stories they share with me about having the opportunity to tell somebody about
Jesus on the school bus or about how they asked for gifts on their birthdays for those less fortunate. I’m oh, so thankful
that these precious children are growing up with servant hearts because that
means our future will have individuals to carry on our work and dreams to reach
others with the love and message of Jesus.
Each person we touch through our servant hearts could be Jesus in
disguise. I’m ever so reminded of that because
of an experience I have witnessed this week at the church. A little over a week ago a man came to the church
office and requested if he could use a portion of our parking lot to load a
shipping container. He is very hard to
understand because of his Hungarian accent, but we finally gathered from him
that he has lost everything here in America (as his wife and daughter have both
died here) and that he has no family or friends and wants to go back home to
Hungary. Unfortunately there have been
some issues with the shipping container people and he still hasn’t been able to
load his things into the container; he's lonely and frustrated, but grateful for the help we have been able to give. He
gave my dad his address and said, “Here will be my address in Hungary. I have no family or friends here, but I just
want someone in America to know where I will live.” Breaks.my.heart. As I’ve watched others help him and as I’ve
even spoken to him myself, I am ever so reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew
25:40, “Whatever you did for the least of
these, you did for Me.”
Freedom to Worship
I am thankful for salvation and that I can worship the Lord freely and
with no worries of being persecuted for my faith. This year we have watched many of our fellow
man suffer persecution for being believers in Christ, most especially in the Middle
East. From imprisonment to even
beheadings – these saints have stood strong for the witness of Christ,
something He told us we might have to do.
I’ll be honest, the subject of religious persecution wasn’t really on my
radar until this summer at the Southern Baptist Convention. It was there I heard first-hand from Naghmeh
Abedini, the wife of Saeed Abedini, an Iraqi-American pastor being imprisoned
in Iraq because of his faith. I had seen
her on TV and even read about her husband, but it wasn’t until ERLC President Russell
Moore spoke about Naghmeh and her husband that I really “heard” their
story. After the presentation, I got to
speak for a brief moment to Naghmeh and tell her how I would be praying for her
and her children. I blogged about this
experience in “#SaveSaeed this Father’s Day.”
Over the past few months, I have read her posts and seen her pictures
of her sweet family as they go through milestones (like today’s Thanksgiving
holiday) in their lives without their precious father and husband. Through each moment, however, she talks about
how she is so proud of Saeed and his perseverance in not denying Christ. Saeed truly “would rather have Jesus than anything
this world affords today.” That is
powerful and a testament to all of us.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 reminds us to “Give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Giving thanks in all circumstances is hard especially when the world around you is in turmoil,
when you are mourning the death of a loved one, when you aren’t sure of your
freedom, when you see someone in desperate need of help, or when you are being
tortured because of your faith – but giving thanks is important because of all
that Christ has done for you. Not only
did he give you life, but He gave HIS life so that you can live eternally with
Him. That fact alone is something for
which to be thankful.
The 2014 world most definitely doesn’t look like the 1621 world, but
the thoughts behind today span the course of 393 years...give thanks to the Lord and
for all He has done for you. Have
a blessed Thanksgiving!
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