Doing It Right

“Bless the Lord oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” –Psalm 103:2

“Blow, blow thou winter wind”, Shakespeare said. “thou art not so unkind as Man’s ingratitude. Freeze, freeze thou bitter sky. Thou dost not bite so nigh as benefits forgot.”

I especially like that, because it reminds me that gratitude is at least as mental as it is emotional. I am called, per the scripture from Psalms above, to remember God’s benefits. Right now that’s very doable, even if feeling all warm and gooey with gratitude over them isn’t within my emotional reach.

Because frankly, it isn’t. I don’t think my best efforts could conjure up one of those “I’m Wonderful” moods, not today and probably not this week. Not because life is terrible for me by any means – I have so much more good than I’ve earned, and not a fraction of the bad I deserve – but while my life is unquestionably blessed, it’s also stressful. Really stressful, actually, for reasons similar to yours. Not enough time, never enough energy, don’t get me started on money, too many loose ends here there and everywhere, weird things people do, weirder things I do, and on top of all that, if I like my plan, no, in fact, I cannot keep it. All of which simply means I’m more than a little overwhelmed by too many things coming too quickly, leaving me feeling more drained than delighted. So boo-hoo.

Yet I’m told in Scripture to be thankful, remembering God’s endless benefits, and if ever it would be hypocritical to remain unthankful it would be now, when the word “Thanksgiving” is on everyone’s lips. So I want to observe the day in a way that’s meaningful beyond the normal chatting, stuffing and moaning afterwards, and I’d like to feel by the end of tomorrow’s celebrations that I did it right. More than ever, I see that means being willing to turn my thoughts to the truth, which is, of course, that God is now and forever indescribably good. A few ways I can keep that truth before me tomorrow:

1. Before all the hoopla starts, I can set aside time for focused prayer and genuine reflection. I’ll consider it a farce to do anything less on Thanksgiving Day. And when I set this time aside, I’ll seriously consider where my life would be were it not for His mercy and provision. That alone will do the trick; at least, it should.
2. I won’t insult Him with the proscribed 20 second blessing before digging into the turkey. He’ll have been thoroughly and individually thanked by me beforehand, and it won’t just be for the food.
3. I will be able to say, by the end of tomorrow’s evening, that I have put concerted effort into mentally recognizing then verbally expressing God’s indescribable goodness to anyone who’ll listen. (Memo to family: Buckle up, I’m going to get very Pentecostal tomorrow.)
4. I’ll look for opportunities throughout the evening to communicate to my fellow partiers, both Christian and non, my experience of God’s grace, without sounding sanctimonious.
5. I’ll also look for opportunities to laugh, enjoy my spectacular family, feast, laugh, then feast and laugh some more. If it’s not fun, it’s not Thanksgiving.

That’s what I’m aiming for, anyway. Sure hope this Thanksgiving is everything, for you, that it should be. You’re on the list of things I am truly grateful for. God bless.