Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving memory? Maybe you've just always imagined what the perfect Thanksgiving Day would be like and you've hoped that yours would unfold as you imagined. For most of us "family" is a big part of our holiday expectations.
This is where we can be setting a trap for ourselves. When our expectation of a great holiday is dependant on the behavior of other people we are on shaky ground. We aren't dumb about this on normal days, but it seems that on holidays we hope for a special magic niceness to come over everyone and for all our plans to work out perfectly.
Your situation may not involve a big extended family, but you may be plagued by the disappointments of a former spouse. Or you may be especially aware of someones absence from the table, someone who used to be there. With all of these things creeping into our "family gathering" how can we have a real Thanksgiving?
Let's start by changing the initial direction of our gaze. Instead of gazing at the family we have gathered around us (or not gathered). Let's begin by fixing our gaze upward toward our Father in heaven.
See what He has done for you. He's invited you to His table, He will not dissatisfy you, there will be no empty chairs at this feast, and He is in control of the whole family. We can rest in Him and know that one day all our best hopes and dreams for the perfect gathering will not only be met, but will be wildly surpassed.
And for today, while we are living in this present reality, be thankful.
Please read Colossians chapter 3 and be encouraged!
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