Thanksgiving evening, and it has been a beautiful day. My heart is full.

The past two years have been challenging. It seems a little impossible that two years ago I had never heard of COVID.  

During these two years, I have rejoiced at births and sorrowed at deaths. I have moved into places and moved out of places. I have travelled, and I have stayed put. I have worked, and I have rested. I have fretted, and I have faithed. I have laughed, and I have cried.

I have watched the madness of sin accost the faith of our fathers, and I have seen the reality of sin’s consequences play out in this world. As never before, I have needed the wisdom of God’s Word to navigate the mazes before me, and I have experienced the absolute faithfulness of God.

People talk a lot about gratitude today, but they talk about it generically as if they are thanking empty space. I know, though, that the blessings and grace and challenges of everyday are filtered through the hand of my Father God.

Today, I know without a doubt that God IS good, and today I am thankful to Him.

I am thankful for the love of family and friends, for smiles and hugs, and for the laughter of children. I am thankful for the friends that God has placed in my life, old friends and new friends. I am thankful for kindness.

I am thankful for blue skies and for rainy days, for flowers and for long walks. I am thankful for the moon rise on a clear night and for the sunrise on a cloudy morning.

I am thankful for feet that carry me and for aches that remind me of the journeys l have travelled. I am thankful for eyes that see and ears that hear. I am thankful for a mind that thinks, even though sometimes I need it to rest awhile and let me sleep.

I am thankful for hot showers and good food, for a bed to sleep in, and for a home in which that bed resides.

I am thankful for work to do and for tiredness at the end of long days. I am thankful for people who need me, and I am thankful that I can need them back.

I am thankful for busyness and noise because they allow me to appreciate the times of quiet in my life.

I am thankful for the love of Christ in my life, and I am so thankful for His sacrifice that purchased my salvation. I am thankful for grace!

I could go on because each day, no matter how challenging, has brought blessing. Each day has been covered by grace. Each day has been anchored in His love. Each and every day has been a showcase for the multitude of His mercies.

Tonight, I can say with the psalmist David, ‘my cup overflows’. It overflows with the goodness of my Shepherd. It overflows with Him!

I pray that you know this Shepherd. I pray that you trust your life and your eternity to Him. He alone can carry you through. He alone is the end goal.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Psalm 23: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever. NKJV

Lamentations 3: ²² It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. ²³ They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. ²⁴ The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.²⁵ The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. ²⁶ It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

Photo – Colors, Beth Mims