The Choice To Rejoice
Sunday, November 30, 2008
How was your Thanksgiving? Did you gather with family and friends to celebrate? Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. As a child I enjoyed gathering around the table with family, eating a sumptuous feast and most of all, thanking the Lord for all His many blessings.
Our family has tried to carry on some of these traditions while also adding a few of our own. Over breakfast of warm blueberry muffins, crisp bacon and orange juice we shared many things for which we were thankful. The one at the top of the list this year was for our safety. Only a few days before Thanksgiving we were involved in a car accident. Although no one was hurt we were left deeply shaken and without a drivable vehicle. But our gratitude for God's protection was on the top of the list.
But other families struggled with loss and pain this Thanksgiving. A few blocks from where we live a dear family's precious seventeen year old daughter was killed in a car accident a few weeks ago. My girls and I listened as her dad shared in the community Thanksgiving service this year. His words touched me deeply. "We choose to rejoice this year because there is more to life than what we can see. There is eternity and our daughter is part of our future. God still loves us though we hurt now and are in great pain."
We choose to rejoice even when bad things happen. Even when we grapple with unexplainable pain. Even when we experience heartbreak and loss. It goes against our natural grain, doesn't it? But the stronger our faith grows the impossible becomes possible.
So may your experience of Thanksgiving open the way to a glorious time of preparation for Christmas. Join me in choosing to rejoice.
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