In Everything Give Thanks!!!
“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
That’s a hard word from the Lord.
Everything covers a whole lot of stuff.
“WHEW, Jesus!! Are you SERIOUS?!?!”
“It’s My will My child. And, when you do, it will certainly change perspective. Shift!!”
Tomorrow kicks off the 2022 Holiday Season. For many of us, we will gather around a Thanksgiving Table with loved ones that we haven’t been able to see since the beginning of the COVID Pandemic. For many others of us, loved ones will be missing……taken away by the same pandemic. Then commences the Christmas Season……another time when for many thanks and happiness are hard to come by.
I know what it’s like to go through the ups and downs of this season after challenge and/or loss. Sometimes breathing is the best you can do. But, then I look at 1 Thessalonians 5:18. It doesn’t say FOR everything……it says IN everything. And, when life had thrown me a few curves, this……giving thanks……is what kept me going.
I’m thankful:
-that my parents took a risk and uprooted us from NJ and moved us down to Dixie……it positively shaped our family’s understanding and appreciation of the value of an HBCU education;
-that our exposure to racism, helped me to sharpen my radar and help to guide others;
-that my brother’s walk as a gay man with AIDS sensitized me to the LGBTQ community;
-that challenges with my pregnancy slowed me down and helped me tune in to my son, the little human I was carrying;
-that the choices that little human has made as an adult have taught me to love unconditionally;
-that the deaths of my father and mother and brother were in a place where we could surround them with love and it created empathy in me for those who will also take this journey;
-that a diagnosis of invasive, aggressive, metastatic breast cancer allowed me to refocus my purpose in life and live in a way I hadn’t before;
-that the challenges in my marriage drove me to Jesus and Therapy;
-that my husband’s job loss turned into a chance to be his own boss;
-that my inability to find work, led me to teaching opportunities at 2 HBCU’s - Morris College and Oakwood University;
-that by letting go of love….I found the love God had for me;
-that my seemingly unanswered prayers, turned out to be some of my greatest blessings.
But, I had to learn about perspective to actually believe it……cause the pain I was in made it feel like there was no point or purpose or way out!! And, certainly, no one understood my plight!! But as I gained perspective, the wounds became scars that served as a reminder that trouble don’t last always.
For the last 12 days, my faith community at the Oakwood University Church has been challenged to find reason to Give Thanks in EVERYTHING!! Titled The Gratitude Project, this journey has revealed that God is Still Good, even when our circumstances aren’t. Each morning we were reminded of the perspective shift when we’re going through it. We watched people testify about how God Did It. And, we learned that Giving Thanks IS the will of God concerning us.
On Thanksgiving Day, you are invited to join us for the premiere of the Thanksgiving Holiday Broadcast “In Everything Give Thanks”. Hosted by Pastor Debleaire Snell and his wife Gianna Snell, you will hear testimonies and music and words of inspiration for your journey. And, you will discover that the mixing and kneading and beating you have gone through, was preparing you to RISE!!!! I promise your soul will be blessed. Here’s the link to join - The Gratitude Project: In Everything Give Thanks! It airs at 10:30 AM Central/11:30 Eastern/8:30 Pacific. It will make that final Thanksgiving food prep a breeze. And, I promise you will be praising by the end.
I’m starting my praising tonight with some of my favorite praise songs…….
Thank You Lord - Walter Hawkins
Faithful is Our God - Hezekiah Walker
Under His Wings/Brandie Sutton - Stephen Manders and Decree
Testimony - Anthony Brown and Group Therapy
In Everything Give Him Thanks - Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
Total Praise - Richard Smallwood
Hallelujah Chorus - Mervyn Warren A Soulful Celebration
And, by the way……that other verse in Scripture about a merry heart being good like a medicine is actually being borne out by science. This article from Psychology Today describes how gratitude/thankfulness/a merry heart benefits total health
I know it’s been really hard, but I want you to be of good courage and know that the trying of your faith worketh patience and He that began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.
Happy Thanksgiving Yawl!! In Everything Give Thanks!!!! Blessings to You This Holiday Season!
I’m Still Shoutin’ Ova Here!!
Donna
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