Dear Friends:

There is certainly every reason to desire such a gathering and to work to make it happen. At the heart of the Thanksgiving holiday is a celebration of the blessings of community and grace.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because of the thought behind it. If there is “thanks” to be given then it admits to someone larger and more gracious who is responsible for my life and those I love. Gratitude is the ultimate confession of our need for God. Giving thanks is the primary obedience that he seeks from his children.

Jesus told us that we will live with him, held fast in his love and the love of the Father, if we keep his commandments (Jn 15:10).  There is no better way to do this than to “engage in the perpetual dialogue of gratitude” (Ellen Vaughn, Radical Gratitude [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005], p. 26).

In point of fact, being grateful is not optional in the life of the believer. Do you wonder what God’s will is for your life? Well, it starts with being thankful.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing; give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess 5:16-18).

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3:15-17).

Yet, I know that the Thanksgiving holiday can be the most difficult of times because for many, too many, the promise of love and the thoughts of gratitude are shadowed by heart-sickening deferrals of hope and the assorted injuries of soul and spirit that result from human inadequacy to bear the weight of human expectations. Read more »