Token Thanksgiving Blog

I was gonna write something about what I am thankful for, since that is the thing to do this time of year, right? I could write about how I am thankful for Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, or Portable outdoor toilet facilities. Or I could write about how I am thankful for family, friends, God, etc.

But this year is different. I am thankful for all of those things, but I have a much better appreciation for them, and a new perspective on life and what we truly do have to be thankful for.

I had a friend go to a 3rd world country this summer to smuggle in money and Bibles for the orphanage and Bible school there. He literally risked his life to help people that he didn't even know. He got there and realized how lucky we truly are to have the freedoms we have in America. These people risk their lives, and are basically in hiding because if they go outside and profess their faith, they could very well be killed. But these people told my friend that they feel bad for us!!!! Why? Because we are so apathetic here, that we can very easily slip away from our faith. We aren't challenged like they are in their faith. Wow.

But I sit back, and learn some lessons from them, and I am truly thankful for the opportunity to worship God openly and freely in a public setting.

This summer, I ran the risk of losing everything. My marriage, my son, my job, ministry, everything. I was faced with the reality of my poor decisions. So, I am thankful that I didn't lose a single one of those things, but I am more thankful that I have a better understanding of what those things really are. Although they are "mine," they are not. God has blessed me to the point of having an incredible wife, an incredible family, a great job with an incredible boss, an opportunity to lead His people, an opportunity be used by the Creator of the universe.

I am truly a blessed person. I have everything I need. I have never truly been without, but have come face to face with the possibility of it. And sometimes we need that. The saying goes, "we don't know what we got until its gone." Well, I am not sure that is entirely true. I know exactly what I got, and haven't lost a thing. I am truly thankful for everything God has chosen to bless me with, and do not take it for granted any more.

But mostly, I am thankful that I have a relationship with God. I am thankful that there is something bigger than my stuff or my troubles or my circumstances. If I didn't have that, there is no telling where I would be. I cant imagine economic crisis, family crisis, losing a job, losing a loved one, or any other hardship without having God in my life. I would feel hopeless and helpless. But I thank God that He has allowed us to have a hope in Him. God is bigger than governmental distress, bigger than economic crisis, and I don't have to have a faith in any of it. I have a faith in God that goes way beyond any thing in this world, and for that, I am truly thankful.