Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Even in this season of the empty nest, I value its uncomplicated requirement of gathering with loved ones, preparing a meal featuring everyone’s favorites, and cultivating a spirit of gratitude to carry throughout the year.
Of course, that last one can be a little challenging, right? I keep catching myself this year casting a longing glance back over my shoulder at years of perfect attendance around my table when full family gatherings didn’t require intricate choreography.
The question that nags and will not be ignored is this:
Can I be thankful NOW?
Knowing what I know about the sovereignty of God and the blessing that comes after the patient submission to his process of growing my faith, can I practice gratitude in my current circumstances?
I’m not interested in a bait and switch in which I light a candle, practice a brand of skillful denial of the obvious circumstances, and then declare myself patient or grateful–at least for the moment. According to the Apostle Paul, gratitude is more than a spontaneous response or a pumpkin-spice feeling. It is a matter of obedience to the will of God.
Gratitude is more than a spontaneous response or a pumpkin-spice feeling. It’s a matter of obedience to the will of God.
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Gratitude is an Everyday Choice
Author and poet Wendell Berry put words into the mouth of a fictional, elderly widow named Hannah Coulter who, in addition to being a crackerjack farmhand when needed (and probably making a great pie crust) also had a firm handle on her biblical theology:
You mustn’t wish for another life. You mustn’t want to be somebody else. What you must do is this:
(Hannah Coulter, page 113)
‘Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
In everything give thanks.’
I am not all the way capable of so much, but those are the right instructions.”
Following the Instructions for Gratitude
In this season of gratitude and pumpkin lattes, I will be focusing on those “right instructions,” knowing full well that I, too, am “not all the way capable of so much.” And yet this business of obedience to the Spirit of God is not to be confused with Operation Bootstrap. It is, rather, an operation by which, “the very God of peace will sanctify me wholly” through purposeful rejoicing in what is given and a prayer life that images the inhale and exhale of breathing.
Rolling into November, perhaps your greatest challenge is deciding between pumpkin and apple pie** on the day of the feast. Or maybe God is choosing this season to grow you through adversity that requires more faith than you seem to have right now. Either way, let’s return to the words of Paul in the way we turn to our recipe for fool-proof gravy, knowing that even though we are not “all the way capable,” the instructions are good, for they are absolutely true, and they are given to us with love:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (I Thessalonians 5:16-18)
**P.S. My advice: Go for a small slice of each.
Holding You in the Light,
Let’s return to the biblical instructions for gratitude in the way we turn to our recipe for fool-proof gravy. They are absolutely true and given to us with love: “Rejoice…; pray…; give thanks in all circumstances.”
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Living Our Days 
Michele: I love Paul’s writings. He speaks to my heart each time I am directed to read him. Due to my dietary requirements, I will hopefully be making either Pumpkin Bread or Cranberry Bread from gluten-free box mixes. Also, we will have candied sweet potatoes, unless we choose to go out to eat on that Saturday. Our son comes in on Saturday because he has to work on that Friday. Peace and blessings to you.
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Love sweet potato!! Enjoy every minute!
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What an encouragement, Michele, thank you. Amen. (Love that Hannah Coulter quote too!)
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Thanks so much for reading! It’s always good to hear from you.
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Our Thanksgiving has past, but I still have home-grown pumpkins to cook-up into all things made with pumpkin. Rejoicing in all circumstances is more than a sweet sentiment, but God’s command to be grateful, as He knows what is best for our mind, heart, and soul. Thanks for steering us in God’s direction, Michele!
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I have always thought that Canadian Thanksgiving is well-timed for us northerners! Happiest pumpkin-ing!
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Cultivating the habit of gratitude has greatly enhanced my life, drawing me away from the negative and toward the positive, allowing me to more fully recognize God’s blessings, and expanding my joy as I take note of the small, ordinary delights of life. Gratitude leads to contentment. (I’m still learning!)
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I love how intentional you are, Nancy, in recording your gratitude. I completely agree that a thankful spirit is a life saver and a joy enhancer!
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“not all the way capable of so much.”
maybe it’s in the acknowledgement that in ourselves gratitude is not going to flow that it begins to pour out because of the Spirit’s prompting and His work in our lives. left to my own devices i will certainly see the glass as half-empty.
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It’s not for nothing that my good husband calls me Eeyore. So I KNOW that I am incapable of SO MUCH and lean hard on practices that literally make me practice what does not come naturally.
Grace training wheels?
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You would think, with all we have to be grateful for, gratitude would come naturally and overflow us every day. But it does seem to take intentionality. How we need to look on purpose for His hand in our lives. But how greatly we’re rewarded when we do look.
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I know, really! We do have SO much, and we take it all for granted. But the effort to be intentionally grateful is so rewarding.
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Such good thoughts to ponder. It is so true how from year to year our tables can look differently. I want to remember this year, and every year, it is the table He has ordained and purposed for me. I am not all the way capable either, but … perhaps if I am intentional, I can get there a little bit more each day.
** I tend to wait and then take a piece of the pie least chosen 🙂
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That’s a mom/grandmother strategy for choosing pie if I ever heard one!
And I love that wording: “the table he has ordained and purposed for me.” Yes!
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[…] was talking with a friend recently about how, with all God’s blessings and all we have to be thankful for, we should be […]
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Just back from being away for a couple of days and catching up on reading. This was great encouragement even today. Perhaps, especially today. I want a heart of gratitude that continues way past the Thanksgiving leftovers….and one that truly shapes my attitude each morning and each season of life! Hope you had a blessed day on Thursday!
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Thank you, Jennifer. That is my goal too!
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Amen, Michele. This>>”gratitude is more than a spontaneous response or a pumpkin-spice feeling. It is a matter of obedience to the will of God.” Is so true.
I appreciate you sharing this wonderful message with Sweet Tea & Friends this month my friend.
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We’ve become sort of sentimental about gratitude when I think it’s actually something that’s required of us–as a spiritual discipline!
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Such a good reminder and beautiful encouragement! Thank you Michele! 💗
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Thanks for reading! It’s great to connect with you here!
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