Thanksgiving…the one day of the year that we are really supposed to sit back, appreciate, and give thanks for all of our blessings.
I think that for most of my life…I didn’t really understand this holiday. I still don’t know if I fully understand it.
Thanksgiving has always been a good thing for me in my life. My family is not perfect but I have never dreaded this holiday. I loved getting together with my family. My mom would slave away in the kitchen preparing so much food for us. We would have turkey, smashed (not mashed) potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberries, corn, my dad’s amazing pies…there is so much more but I can’t even remember everything. It was awesome.
Throughout the day, my family would get together and maybe watch the parades or an NFL game on TV. Sometimes we would play games. We would laugh and have just a great time.
This is what thanksgiving was for me…it was about getting together with family, stuffing myself to the point where I was about to explode, and having a good time.
Which is all really great stuff…if you are thankful for it.
But I don’t know if I ever really knew what it meant to be thankful. This is because I haven’t really ever lacked anything. I didn’t know what it was like to not have this stuff. I have always just had what I needed and I expected to get what I needed.
So through this…I have lived a pretty unthankful life. I have just always just expected this stuff to happen. It was just the way it was and I didn’t really realize what other people did and what other people sacrificed in order to make this all happen so that I could have a great experience on Thanksgiving.
I have had this “center of the universe” attitude, where everything revolves around me.
The last couple months or so, God has been showing me that it isn’t about me at all. It is about Him.
God has been showing me more of his big picture, and it is so beautiful. It is amazing how connected we are and so cool how He uses us in each other’s lives.
He does this beautiful thing where He pours out blessings on us. Then He expects us to take those blessings and pour them out onto others. We are all beautifully woven together into this amazing masterpiece.
Personally, if it wasn’t for AIM, I wouldn’t have this opportunity. Without my supporters, I wouldn’t be here. If it wasn’t for all the ministries that we team up with along the way, none of this would be possible. In fact, none of this would be possible for me if all of these people didn’t sacrifice the blessings God gave them for me.
It is amazing…God is pouring out all His blessings onto so many people and people are just giving the blessings away to others. And the way it is all coming together for me is just completely rocking my world. And I am so thankful…
And that is just this trip…if when I start looking at my whole life and how people have sacrificed for me, I am completely floored.
Without my family, friends, and even many acquaintances, I wouldn’t be who I am. I wouldn’t be where I am. If you are reading this, chances are that somehow God is using you to pour His love into me; you might realize it and you might not…but that doesn’t matter.
In fact…it doesn’t matter if you are my best friend or someone I really struggle to love. It doesn’t matter if we get along or not. It doesn’t matter what our relationship is…whether good, bad, or indifferent. It doesn’t even matter if you believe in Jesus yet or not because God is still using you to shape me and to change my heart. For this I am so thankful…
So…on Thanksgiving…I want you all to know that I am so incredibly thankful for you. You have impacted my life more than you can ever imagine. I am so thankful…and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
