From My Perspective - - -

A special day reserved for giving thanks – what a splendid idea! Family members travelling from far and near to be together – what a fulfilling time for all! A meal or feast of all the traditional goodies – how excellent are the provisions of God for His children! The leftovers from the Thanksgiving Feast – what a great reminder of the good time had by all.

Sometimes, there are unplanned events that happen in conjunction with Thanksgiving Day, such as, backing a Truck into someone’s van; backing the Truck and catching the mirror on one of the support posts (damaging both); a plastic baking dish filled with Green Bean Casserole melting and catching fire in the oven – ruining the Green Bean Casserole and a Hash Brown Casserole that was alongside of it; cleaning and scraping, scraping and scrubbing the oven; an attempt to bake an Au Gratin Potato Casserole the next day in the same "obsessed" oven – the dish did not melt or burn – but it did actually explode in the oven leaving glass shards and potatoes all over the oven, with milk and cheese sauce leaking out of the oven into a storage drawer beneath and onto the floor; cleaning, scraping, scrubbing the "obsessed" oven once again; the yelling at Grand-kids for rushing into the disaster area; getting irritated because of some thinking it was funny; an antique piece of China dropped onto an antique piece of crystal – both pieces breaking – these are a few of a Thanksgiving Memory!

In everything – Give Thanks! How does one do that when in the span of two days all of the above occurred? Well – the “everything” and the “giving thanks” – how does and can this work? Give thanks – no one was injured. Give thanks – the fire was contained and other than the food – no damage occurred to anyone or anything. Give thanks – the two vehicles can be repaired with minimum cost. Give thanks – the China and Crystal are only “things” that are temporary at best. Yes! – Give thanks – what a privilege and discipline!

When one thinks about the “in  everything” passages in the Bible, there is an all-encompassing dimension of life that is presented. In Everything and the Grace of Giving mentioned in II Corinthians 8:7, “But as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you--see that you excel in this act of grace (of giving) also.” In Ephesians 5:19-20, the interactional life one should have within the household of faith is to: “address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” In Colossians 1:17-19, we are reminded that Jesus Christ is to be seen, recognized and honored as the one who… “is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,” In addition, we are to understand that in our “everything” – He is preeminent!  In Colossians 3:17, there is the instruction about how we are to approach every and all tasks, namely, “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.”

To enable us to have a clear focus for life, there are two additional passages we’ll note. The first is I Timothy 6:17, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” It is a reminder to honor The Source of all that we have been given to enjoy. The second verse is II Timothy 2:7, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” There are many more “in everything” passages but these suffice so that the “in everything” experiences – whether they are deemed positive or negative – should find expressions of Thanksgiving to God. Why? Because He was there all the time, and because He has a perfect plan for each of our lives. Psalm 118:1 enjoins: “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.” Psalm 118:28, “You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.”  Consider these things with me!