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I love Thanksgiving. The family togetherness, the traditions, the cool breezes of fall after a long, hot summer. With it comes the reflection of the meaning behind it all … giving thanks. But what does it mean to give thanks? Only God knows where these words find you today. Maybe you are in a waiting season, longing for a fresh move of God. Trust Him. Give thanks to Him for His timing, His plan, and the story He is writing for you. Thank Him for all that He has done and all that He has planned. Perhaps the very thing that stands in the way of your new, fresh season in Christ is an expression of gratitude for the one you are currently in.
As young adults coming home for the holidays, we just have to face the facts—everything from this moment forward is going to be different. It’s going to be new. While the nostalgia may tug at our hearts and have us wishing things could go back to how they were, that’s just not reality. But here’s the good news: There’s so much adventure in the new!
This year with Thanksgiving fast approaching, I found myself looking at things a little bit differently. Thanksgiving serves as the grand entrance to the holiday season. I mean, I love the holidays. But, as a wife, a mom to four (amazing) kids, and as a marriage and family therapist, my life is already completely busy. Adding holidays means adding stress. It just does. Just thinking about it raises my blood pressure. I want to be grateful. I really do, but, life is stressful.
It’s okay to look around at everything going on in this world and wonder how to see God in it. Specifically, it’s okay to wonder how to see God’s goodness. He didn’t just make us and then leave us in the dark to believe He’s good without ever giving us some way to see it. God’s goodness is incredibly observable, and you don’t have to take my or anyone else’s word for it. So let’s keep this simple. Here are three questions to help you know where and how you can look for God’s goodness. These questions work because they will help you define what you really believe about God.
When your kids have questions about the miracles they’ve asked God for, or why a good God would let bad things happen, don’t skirt the issue and pretend that everything works out great for everyone. Instead, be honest that God is powerful enough to work any miracle, and He is good, but suffering does still exist, even in the lives of people who are completely devoted to Jesus.
