A Thankful Heart, For Real

by Kaye Stein

November—the month we are most thankful in! Raise your hand if you’re guilty. Can you see mine? My hand is up. At my age, I’ve celebrated so many Thanksgiving meals in so many different homes, and with so many different people, that I can’t say I have a tradition. But that’s okay. I moved around, living in several different states and I wasn’t always able to get back home. So, I guess my tradition is that I don’t have a tradition. Don’t get me wrong, I do have a meal with

family, but it’s been a changing dynamic. I’m sure there are plenty of you who have been in the same place in life. Dynamics change for different reasons, and we could go on and on listing them, but that’s not the point we need to dwell on. The point is, are we thankful and ministering to the ones God gives us during the time we have?

Jesus’s ministry took Him to many places, but His focus stayed the same. Everywhere He went He ministered to people and was focused on His Father’s work. All throughout the New Testament, there are stories of His love for us! Are we following in His steps and loving on our people? Are we showing a thankful heart towards the people God has put in our lives? It’s okay to start with small steps, maybe even better. Try listing your gratitude. Or when you sit down at the table with others, have everyone say something they are thankful for.

Being thankful is an action and showing thankfulness can be a little difficult or even scary at times. Letting go of bad history can possibly require much more effort, so start small. Say like, learning to be thankful for yourself! Be thankful for the way God made you—all the way down to your nose hairs! I’m sure you have heard the saying, “you must learn to love yourself before you can love someone else!” It is very true. Your nose hairs have a job to do even though it’s not a major part of you. But just the same, they have a purpose. It may not be as significant as the iris in your eye, but every part of you is made to perfection to do your Lord’s work. I know it’s kind of a funny analogy, and not too glamorous to think about nose hairs, yet every part of you is put together by God. Likewise, He put together each one of us to fulfill His purpose and bring Him glory!

Ephesians 3:19, “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” So, shout your praises to the God almighty and be thankful for His love for you! Let that joy and peace permeate your being, and that joy will spread to the people in your life!

About The Author

Kaye Stein lives with her amazing husband, Mike, in Rome, Georgia, and attends Pleasant Valley North. She loves learning about God in Bible Study Groups and Sunday School in the Woman’s Class. She loves her family, especially her grands! She is retired and is starting her bucket list travels.