Post-turkey Confessions

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 I'm a bit of a cynic when it comes to Thanksgiving.

Don't get me wrong, I love holidays as much as anybody. Time off of work, an excuse to sleep in, amazing food, and frisbee football with family and friends. What's not to love. The part that I get cynical about is how fake and insincere the idea of Thanksgiving is becoming in America. You see it everywhere, people claiming extreme gratefulness for one day, and within a few hours, moving on with normal life. Or even worse -indulging in the insanity and greed that goes on during Black Friday.




I just read an article about all the injuries, riots, and fights related to Black Friday shopping. It definitely was not one of my "proud to be an American" moments.

 But probably the reason I felt cynical about this Thanksgiving was largely due to my own level of sincerity. I may  not have ran around snatching up "good deals" at 3 am in the morning, but at the same time I found it hard to get gushy with God about all that He's done for me. Especially when I knew I had done more then my share of dwelling silently on all the things I wish were different. I had been far more focused that week on  regrets that I had,  complaints I wanted to make, and negativity that had surfaced. I knew I didn't need to prove anything to God and that He would accept my thanksgiving even when it was coming from a not-so-perfect heart. But isn't thankfulness in words  meaningless if not lived out? Isn't claiming extreme gratefulness to God for one day in the midst of such dissatisfaction mockery? It sure felt that way to me. 

So there I was on Sunday, after the hullabaloo of turkey day, flipping through my Bible looking for a verse to share about thankfulness. Mostly because the worship leader (aka my husband) asked us to. Instead of pulling up some awesome psalm of praise, I kept thinking about the very well-known verse in Philippians 4 where it says "for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, to be content." Nothing new, nothing profound, nothing I haven't heard a hundred times before....  Just a friendly reminder from my Father that true thankfulness from my mouth has to be preceded with contentment in my heart. 

Thanksgiving and contentment - the two go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly. One without the other is decent, but together they are a sensation. 

Comments

  1. ChocalattaDecember 3, 2012 at 8:12 AM

    i love you gloria - this post made me smile...and made me proud (again) to call you a friend.

    ReplyDelete

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