Many of us have family traditions we enjoy year to year, but do they include thanking God? A great way for even small children to verbalize their thankfulness is to go around the table or the room before eating and have each person say one thing they thank God for that year. Many of us have family members that don’t give God credit for the great things He has done; they can still voice what they are thankful for in the year, while we can thank God for our blessings.
After our Thanksgiving celebration in Iowa, we drive seven hours home. During the first couple of hours of the trip we make a few phone calls telling dear friends that we are thankful for them in our lives. A few calls are personal, just a sweet message from one of us. For the messages from our whole family we in unison say, “We’re thankful for you!” and then mom or dad will finish with “from the Doeblers.” Most of these calls are messages left on machines since people are busy with their own celebrating.
This past week we received a hand written note in the mail. What a pleasant surprise to see six little people’s signatures, along with their parents confirming the notes message. Inside a handmade card with Psalm 107:1 printed on the front, they wrote “We are thankful for you!!” What a blessing.
Happy Thanksgiving! This year let’s verbalize our thanks to God and to those He has enriched our lives with. Following the example of
II Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” and I Thessalonians 3:9 “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?”