Everywhere, Everywhere, Thanksgiving Today

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of his pasture.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise:  be thankful unto Him, and bless His name   For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting:  and His truth endureth to all generations.” Psalm 100 (KJV).

At Thanksgiving and other important observances, how we were “brought up” (reared) makes a difference in how we ourselves lead our own families, when we establish them, to observe important days.  I like to think that “Everywhere, Everywhere, Thanksgiving Today” when people remember the Lord’s goodness and raise sincere thanks to God from whom all blessings flow.  I pray that you will lead your own family to make the day one of sincere searching to name and thank God for recognized blessings.  For without Him and His ever-giving, ever-benevolent grace, we can do nothing.  Today, I give grateful testimony to the grace and leadership of God and blessings so numerous I cannot name them all.  But here are some major ones I recognize and am truly grateful for.

I am thankful for God’s Word that is steadfast and sure and provides light and guidance for my life.  I quoted Psalm 100 in the King James Version, for that is the only version we used when I was a child and memorized this stately psalm when I was a child of seven.  I was encouraged at home, at Choestoe Church and at Choestoe School (yes, it was a public school) to memorize scripture.  And Psalm 100 was in that early repertoire of memorized passages.  My teacher at school, Mrs. Mert Collins (I remember her with love and gratitude, for she was my school teacher and my Sunday School teacher in those formative years) made a chart with our names and gave us a star when we could successfully quote to her a passage selected for memorization.  She helped me more than I could ever know then, for throughout my subsequent life Psalm 100 and other passages she led me to memorize have come to mind for inspiration and guidance from then until now.  This passage is part of what I term my “life verses.”  I thank God for His Word that remains forever “a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).  I am thankful for His Word that led me to salvation in the Lord Jesus!

I am thankful for family .  I grew up in a hard-working Christian farm family.  We had my mother for such a short time.  When I was fourteen, she passed away from heart difficulties.  In a later time, modern medical science might have prolonged her life, but in the country and in the mid-1940’s, neither facilities nor medical help was available to us.  I was greatly bereaved and extremely distressed, but even at her funeral, I determined to seek to be the sort of woman our pastor talked about my mother being, using those wonderful verses from Proverbs 31:10-31 to pay her tribute. To summarize, I was able then to assume duties in my family that were far beyond a normal fourteen-year old’s responsibilities.  At the same time I had to grow up quickly, the Lord became my daily companion and encourager.  Hardships were many but strength was always available.  If we can thank God even for adversity, we can learn to grow thereby and learn “in all things” to give thanks.  God granted me a wonderful Christian family, a godly husband, and children who early-on became Christians and sought the Lord’s way for their lives.  From my parents, to their children, to my own family and to their children and grandchildren—from generation to generation—God has been our Guide and Stay.  And my heart wells up with gratitude.

Prayer thoughts:  “Count your blessings, name them one by one.  Count your many blessings see what God has done.” (from “Count Your Blessings,” words by Johnson Oatman, Jr (1856-1922).  And in the words of a modern hymn written by Terry W. York for Genevox Music Group, “Thanksgiving/Thanks-living” we read:  “He gives us freedom from our fears; food, friends, and purpose thro’ the years.  All the words of our Thanksgiving fail to say what we can show by our Thanks-living.”  Lord, thank You. I want to live in gratitude!