It's Thanksgiving week, and the news tells us that it's the busiest travel week of the year.
People will load up cars, rush to the airport, or even take a train to celebrate the holiday with family and friends. My family is no exception to the travel season. We plan every year to spend Thanksgiving week with my family (in years past it's been anywhere between Florida and Ohio). When Christmas week hits, we head to North Carolina to spend the week with my in-laws.
As with any trip we take, we begin preparing a week or so in advance. First, does the vehicle need the oil changed or tires rotated? Second, Laura evaluates the laundry situation to make sure we have all we'll need. Third, we usually pack up the suitcases and load the car the evening prior to our departure. There is much coordination that takes place for the all the fun, family activities we will enjoy at our destination.
Every single time, you can count on me saying to Laura, "Don't forget to remind me to get _________." This can range from a pillow, a bathing suit, a book, golf clubs, etc. Then once we get into the car to begin the trip we go through a checklist to make sure that nothing is forgotten. We are then on our way to make more family memories that will last a lifetime.
This week, I was doing some additional Bible study to prepare for our Night of Thanksgiving at our church. I was asked to lead in our time of taking communion. It didn't take long for my mind to connect Thanksgiving and communion as it needs to be with a grateful heart that we partake in the communion elements that represent the body and blood of Christ in His ultimate death for mankind.
Not just Thanksgiving week, but every single day, we must remember the sacrifice He gave for us. He died so that we can live. He extended grace even though we don't deserve it. But how often do we allow our hearts and minds to drift from the impact that has upon us? We get so busy with life that we forget about His death. We must remind ourselves to not forget.
One stormy night on Lake Michigan, a side-wheeler steamboat was rammed by another boat. The steamboat sank just a mile offshore from the village of Winnetka, Illinois. Out of 393 passengers on board, 279 drowned.
A man named Edward Spencer, after seeing the situation unfold, plunged into the lake and swam to the drowning people. He towed one person to shore and went for another. In all, he brought seventeen people to safety. However, the strain on this young man caused him to collapse. The nerves in his legs were so completely destroyed that he could never walk again. He was an invalid wheel chair victim for his entire life.
On his eightieth birthday, someone asked him to relate his most vivid memory of that dreadful day. He replied, "Not one of the seventeen returned to thank me."
May you pause right now to stop and say thanks once again for what He's done for you. And then try to live everyday with those same thoughts of gratitude.
Here's some verses that I believe will encourage to carry a spirit of thankfulness:
1.) Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). ~ John 19:17 NLT
2.) For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ~ 1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV
3.) May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ~ Galatians 6:14 NIV
4.) And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. ~ Philippians 2:8
5.) And through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. ~ Colossians 1:20 NLT
6.) He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.~ Colossians 2:14 NLT
7.) Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ~ Hebrews 12:2 NIV
Let's remind ourselves daily of His sacrifice! He is worthy!
Happy Thanksgiving!