Geography may physically separate people but a loved one and a friend is a "in your heart relationship" and there are no miles in a heart.
There are so many people who will be gathering their families or friends, reaching out to the homeless, or giving their time to serve others in need this Thanksgiving holiday season. Whatever your tradition may be it is one of those wonderful stop times in life that we take time to reflect upon the goodness of the Lord. Oh it does get a little bogged down with the hurry, hurry, hurry, fix, fix, fix, gobble, gobble, gobble. And there are those families that really act like a bunch of Turkeys
It is possible that for every person who has a plan to celebrate and give thanks there are the same number of people who are alone and hurting. There are those that just feel empty though they are surrounded by people who care for them. Sometimes it is difficult to know what you are thankful for when you have no job, or you’re hungry, or tired, or sick or have no place safe to live.
Psalm 118 verse 24 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." God wants us to count our blessings, count them one by one. You can start small. How about giving thanks for: a baby laughing, puppies at play, autumn leaves crunching underfoot, red tennis shoes, the smell of oranges, or sipping hot chocolate. Perhaps you are thankful for being able to see your own breath on a crisp winter morn, winning a double dog dare, or someone looking right into your eyes and smiling at you. Maybe thankfulness grows when you see a spectacular sunset or majestic purple mountains or hear birds singing. It is an endless I’m thankful for list: Fireworks bursting in air, a horse running free, S’mores, white socks, finding an Easter egg in your raincoat pocket. Freckles, snowflakes, family baseball games, ice cold watermelon on a steamy hot day. Hot air balloons, swinging and touching the sky, fireflies, and a willow tree by the lake, Christmas lights, chocolate! Hope, kittens, popcorn, stained glass windows, the sound of the ocean waves, dancing at a wedding! Red cheeks, a winning team, chicken noodle soup, a field of yellow daffodils. I can’t stop … His word tells me "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13) There is so much to be thankful for all around us…. God even made laughing hyenas – how fun is that? A scavenger with a warning sound! That is how much the Lord God loves you and me and here’s the best: "God so loved the world" (the families of the earth), that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:16–18, italics mine).
A pearl to string: You can’t be far away from those you love when you hold them in your heart; there are no miles in a heart.
Happy heart giving thanks – Happy Thanksgiving
Lyndi
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