Giving Thanks

Give Thanks to the Lord for He is good. His love endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16: 34

Each Monday I take part in a Leadership Team meeting with the administrators at the school where I work. We are have the entire week of Thanksgiving off of school so the meeting this week we focused on giving Thanks. The week before Thanksgiving is a busy one at my school as we have our annual fall book fair, two full days of celebrating grandparents and a special Thanksgiving Feast for our Middle School kids. Not to mention that it all happens the during one of the longest stretches of time with no school holidays. Everyone is on edge and especially the teachers that are in need of a mental health break before we come back to make the final stretch toward final exams. With all that in mind, I wrote the following devotion for our administrators and thought that it would also apply to us as parents working toward raising our kids.

Lord,

It is so easy in times of great blessings to turn to you thanking you for being there and for looking out for all of us by providing us with what we need.

It is so easy Lord in difficult times to call out to you questioning where you are in our time of need.

Next week we set aside a day especially for remembering our great blessings and Lord I do not thank you enough for all that you do. So, dear Lord I thank you now. I especially thank you for the unseen blessings that you provide.

Lord, I thank you for illness as it serves as a reminder about your blessings of doctors, medicines and ultimately that you are indeed the great physician who can and will take away those challenges if it is your will.

Lord, I thank you for conflict with my coworkers as it serves as a reminder that hard work pays off usually, that working allows me to share without fear my faith in you as my Savior. It reminds me that I am blessed to have a job where I can talk to you in public without fear of retribution and it reminds me that I am blessed with a job when so many others are without.

Lord, I thank you diagreements with my spouse as they serve as a reminder of the partnership that you placed together to glorify you. It reminds me that I have someone to count on, someone that loves me without demanding in return.

Lord, I thank you for battle of the wills with my children as it serves as a reminder that you have blessed them with special gifts that will be polished over time to show your glory to a world so needing to hear about your unending, unconditional love.

It is hard at times Lord to see your many blessings in the daily challenges that we face as parents, workers and spouses. But, just as we can see your blessings in a beautiful sunrise or in a song your blessings can be seen in all of these experiences.

Thank you Lord for all of your many blessings.

Amen.