Today is Thanksgiving. As I am writing this I am planning out my final preparations for the six-hour car ride that will take us to our final destination, where we will celebrate the holiday with friends. To say that Thanksgiving looks a little different this year is not inaccurate. This year, rather than hosting a group ourselves, we will be hosted. Instead of remaining in our snowy hometown, we will be traveling to a noisy city. There's no smell of turkey in the air as I'm writing this. My mother will not be baking her famous pies. But the unusual nature of our celebration makes it no less welcome.
2019, like most of the years before it, has been a challenging year. And like the preceding years, the challenges have felt unique and have created a new set of circumstances for our family. I'm definitely learning how to trust Jesus a little more every day. That said, such lessons only scratch the surface of what these seasons of life teach us. It's not unusual to feel tired. It's common to feel as though you're fighting to just keep a positive outlook. But this, my friends, is where celebration comes in.
I was frantically searching for words to accurately describe hos I was feeling this holiday season. And in my day-to-day interaction with social media, I landed on the saying that you see as the header image for this post. It's from the collection of liturgies called Every Moment Holy, and within it is found the liturgy entitled "A Liturgy for Feasting with Friends." It's been a favorite of mine ever since I got the book and as I savored the words, I was reminded that the moments of joy that I will experience today in the presence of fellow believers are in fact a reflection of the eternal hope that I have in Christ and echo the Wedding Supper of the Lamb foretold in Revelation. That when I take a moment to celebrate over food and fellowship, it is, in a way, a celebration of the victory I have spiritually. This is in fact, in line with the spirit of the first Thanksgiving, where the participants of that event took a few days to celebrate their physical survival and to acknowledge the people who helped them and their Heavenly Father who brought them through.
"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice! ... Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-- meditate on these things... I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:4, 6-8, 12-13.
As you go about today, offer up thanksgiving to Christ, who brings life, and lay your worries at His feet. Our thanksgiving, our joy, our hope, and our participation in the celebration of today are all acts of faith for those of us that have eternal hope in Christ. And when we take a moment to be thankful, in the midst of the moments of fighting through life, it is an act of defiance against the wiles of Satan, who would seek to steal our peace. So today, I'll offer up my worries with thanksgiving, and find joy in the journey, knowing that all will be well.
Happy Thanksgiving!