Thankfulness is Essential

A frequent conversation in our home starts something like “Tell me something you’re thankful for today.” It’s not just a Thanksgiving or #NovemberThanks conversation, it’s an attitude we strive to maintain every single day and have endeavored to instill in our children. We are so adamant about this process because we have experienced, over and over, how vital a thankful heart and mind is to continue with the mission God has entrusted to us. Whether it’s in the middle of everyday life, during service on Sunday, or within our home, thankfulness drives out anger, resentment and so many other destructive mindsets and instead paves the way for the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds and for His perfect love to drive out fear.

The past few weeks have been unlike any we’ve ever faced. Almost overnight, basic necessities we’ve never given much thought to, have become hot commodities that are scarce, if not impossible to find in stores or even online. Schools have cancelled the last 2+ months of classes, all except essential businesses have been mandated to close (including most of ours), churches have been forced to move all worship services online, and so much more has changed about our everyday lives. I’ve never really given much thought to how incredibly blessed we are to be able to walk into our choice of stores and buy items like toilet paper, canned goods, meat, produce or whatever we happen to be craving that day. I’ve taken it for granted because I’ve never known anything else. I’ve never walked into a store and been overwhelmed with sadness as I walked nearly empty aisles, past bare islands that used to overflow with fresh fruits and vegetables, or walked to the meat department and instead of thinking “what do I want to make for dinner?”, having thoughts like “will there be ANY meat available today?” Or at least, I had never walked into a store and been faced with these thoughts, until March 2020. I don’t think I’ll ever forget walking through Albertson’s that morning, about a week into this chaos, and being almost overwhelmed by the weight of sadness, not even for myself, but for our community, our nation, and our brothers and sisters around the world. You see, through all of this, I’ve never been scared for my family or wondered IF we’d have food to eat. We may not have our favorite dish or might need to make some adjustments based on what’s available, but we’re not unnecessarily stressing about a temporary shortage, due mainly to mass panic buying. We know that our source is greater than any shortage or any disaster we could ever face. But, as I walked through the store this day, I saw confusion on elderly faces as they stared at the emptiness in front of them. I fought back tears as I thought how hard something as “simple” as grocery shopping may be for those that have memory problems, or for other reasons, rely on strict routines to navigate daily activities like this. I rounded the corner and saw the stress in a mother’s eyes as she explained to her frustrated child that there just wasn’t any bread available to be purchased that day. It broke my heart for those that are facing these uncertainties that, just a few short weeks ago, most of us would have not thought possible. My heart especially broke for those that are attempting to navigate this crisis without the peace and direction of our loving Father. So many are pointing fingers at the selfishness of those hoarding food and supplies that are causing a lot of these shortages. What I see are fearful attempts at attaining stability and security in the only way they know how. I see people that are hurting, afraid and panicked. People that really only need one thing, a revelation of the love of Jesus. A revelation that will wrap them in a blanket of peace that no disaster can possibly penetrate. It’s the only answer that will truly deliver the security they’re searching for, and that peace is worth more than any warehouse full of toilet paper!

So, as I walked through the grocery store that morning, with purposeful eyes, looking for opportunities to shine the love of Jesus, even if just through a simple helping hand, I began to pray for those that are hurting and searching, not only within this store, but around the world. And as I continued around the store, that sadness I felt before, began to turn into hope, into confident expectations, of what God was going to do in lives around the world through all of this. Once again, I was reminded that He’s taking what the enemy designed for evil and transforming it into something amazing. He’s using this time to speak clearly to His flock while we’re forced to be still for a bit. He’s turning virus into revival and that brings peace, comfort and joy back to my thoughts. And when my heart and mind are ruled by peace, especially when the world is in turmoil all around me, I can’t help but overflow with thanksgiving for the goodness of our God! After all, His goodness is everywhere we look, we just have to be willing to see it. As I continued my walk, I began to notice several little things around the store that I was thankful to see on the shelves, that sparked a little more joy inside of me. The fact that my favorite gf cookie was still in stock made me smile. And although they may be out of eggs, I found a carton of egg whites, which is actually all I needed for my angel food cake recipe anyway! Praise! (Side note: Yes, Jesus is totally showing me love through sugar! Or maybe I just have a sugar problem. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Hey, they can take my gluten, even replace my ground beef with turkey, but keep your healthy paws off my occasional sugar sprees!) Once again, God was showing me, in my own special way, that He’s got me taken care of, and He’ll do the same for you. We have SO MUCH to be thankful for, how can we possibly focus on anything else? And what would the purpose be in that anyway? After all, He holds all of my tomorrow’s, He’s never failed me in any of my yesterday’s, so who am I to doubt Him now? His goodness is running after us every single day! So let’s choose faith over fear, peace over worry, and love over all else, and let’s remain thankful for all that He’s done for us every single day.