THANKSGIVING — COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS

Daily blessings, really?

Have you ever wondered if God has a spreadsheet with each of our names on it, alongside a list of the blessings He has prepared for us each day?

If we imagine such a list, it might make us wonder: is there another column for the trials we experience or the difficult things He allows us to go through?

Does the story of Job come to mind?

Life has a way of presenting us with remarkable, sometimes unexplainable experiences that remind us of God’s presence and sovereignty over the affairs of humanity. There are moments when we look back and think, “Surely, God had a hand in this.”

Welcome to our month of THANKSGIVING!

This month, we are taking intentional steps to count our blessings, remembering that even when life feels heavy, there is still many things worth being grateful. Sometimes, we focused on what is missing that we forget to acknowledge what is present.

Think about:

• The privilege of waking up each morning, and going about your daily activities
• The unexpected provision
• The favour you received during that job interview
• The little victories, answered prayers, unexpected kindnesses, and opportunities that made life a little easier
• The warm hugs and laughter shared with friends and family or
• The strength to survive a season we thought would break us.

No! Life might not always go as planned. Perhaps you lost your job this year. Maybe you had to walk away from a relationship that meant the world to you. Perhaps the loss of a loved one brought you to the edge of depression, or you endured a season so difficult that simply getting through each day felt like an achievement.

That is why thanksgiving must be more than a response to good news. It is an invitation to reflect and recognise the good even when our hearts are hurting.

Our greatest blessings are usually the ordinary days.

The days without emergencies.

The days without devastating phone calls.

The days we sleep peacefully.

The journeys we complete safely.

The day ends and people we love are still here.

THE PEACEFUL DAYS.

Perhaps we have underestimated how much of a blessing that is.

Take a moment today. Sit quietly, look back on the year and count your blessings.

When you are done counting, put on your favourite music and dance like a woman who has remembered just how much she has to be grateful!

What a blessing it is to be here, still growing, still becoming, and still blooming!