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Thanks Giving


Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy. (Proverbs 14:10)
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (I Thessalonians 5:18)
          Happy Thanksgiving Day. Another year has passed, and we’re in the holiday season again. I went to the store. I hope I don’t have to go back to the store for at least a few days. It is appropriate for us to take a few minutes to think about being thankful. I don’t do holidays well and this one is being a tough one. There’s too much unsettled. It feels as though I’m having to make decisions about the rest of my life, and no matter what decision I make, it’ll probably be wrong. But it’s the holidays. I’m supposed to be bright and cheery. Nobody wants to listen to a Debbie Downer whine. You’re right. And so those for whom holidays are a difficult time hide or put on a mask and pretend to be happy, because – well – how dare we interfere with someone else’s enjoyment of the season? That’s not our goal. It’s not my goal. 
         My goal is to talk about thanksgiving… giving thanks in all circumstances. Thanksgiving isn’t “Tra-la-la; everyone is happy!” It’s not, “Don’t worry, be happy!”    It’s not even “Hakuna Matata!” 
          It’s “Thank you, God, for Dad’s failing health and what I’m learning because of it.”
                 It’s “Thank you, Lord, for putting me in a position where I can write these books, even if I have no reason to hope that it wasn’t just a waste of time and money.”
           It’s “Thank you, Father, for my 957th picture of a kestrel, my 15,914th picture of a red-shouldered hawk, and my millionth picture of a crow (OK, exaggerations all) because somehow in my mind, that’s being creative, and somehow, in my mind, being creative helps my attitude.”
           It's “Thank you, Jesus, for my struggle with my weight.
           It’s “Thank you for my truck, my garden, my garden plans, my many, many tangible blessings that are so easy to overlook.”
          It’s “Thank you for the fact that once Dad dies, I’m probably going to have to find a job, and I have no idea who in their right mind would want to hire someone like me, at least for anything better than minimum wage, because it will be an opportunity for You to show once again that you don’t let me miss my “exit.”
           It's “Thank you for true friends, and fake friends, and especially for the enemies because their love gives me strength and their hatred teaches me how to love better.”
          Most of all, it’s “Thank You for being You, for refusing to make me Your god by     making things just the way I want them to be, because I know I’d make a horrible god.”
          Thank You through the tears, the angry words, the stupid thoughts about solving my problems in ways that wouldn’t solve them… Thank You that You stay true and Your love endures forever – even when my mind or heart are all twisted up in Gordian knots. 
          Care to one-own me because your less than perfect circumstances are more imperfect than mine? Please do! Because a “thank You for the bounty” doesn’t cost us much, but a thank you in the rain, pain, strain, and famine takes courage, it takes digging deep. It’s more real. So thank You for the real. 

With that in mind, here is my Thanksgiving Day Concert (once again.) 

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