A Thanksgiving post but I'm not really here

No, I'm not returning to the blogosphere, this is just a brief stop in for this one occasion.

It is November, a month that is permanently linked (at least here in America, you odd Canadians celebrated a long time ago!) with Thanksgiving Day. It is common, even among those who don't know Christ, to reflect upon our lives during this time. The biggest grouches will inexplicably express gratitude during this time...even if they have not a single good thing to say the rest of the year.

Indeed, most of us have much to be thankful for. Our families, our friends, our homes, our jobs, even the dry (not mine!) turkey that will be on the table in just a few short hours. And it is right that we should be thankful for these things as they are all certainly blessings (yes, even that family member who will complain about the dry turkey), but it occured to me this morning as I was preparing the turkey that it is quite easy to get distracted by these things. In all the hustle and bustle of the season we must deliberately make an effort to lift our eyes heavenward. To be thankful not only for the things on our table, or the laughter that fills our ears, but even more so for the Cross.

To someone who doesn't know the joy of following Christ it may seem strange to rejoice, especially at Thanksgiving, at that broken and beaten Man who hung from a tree. Ah, but to those of us who have had it revealed to us! We are able to see Jesus crying out, "It is finished!" and our spirits can soar! It really was finished that day on Calvary; our enslavement to sin, our separation from God while on earth, the very real reality of an eternity separated from Him...It is finished, beloved! Rejoice!

To be thankful for the earthly things we have is good, and right, we must not overlook these blessings but even more importantly we can (and must) rejoice in the shadow of the Cross. Even those who have recently lost jobs, or homes, or even loved ones can be comforted in knowing that they are held in the Father's hand. He sees all the struggles, He sees the heart ache, and He longs to comfort you but you must turn to Him. If you say you have nothing to be thankful for, that everything is going wrong in your life right now I ask you, do you have Christ? If your answer is yes, then you have it all, my friend. Kneel at the foot of your Savior's cross and be comforted that He has gone before you and is leading you to where He wants you. Yes, even in this uncertain time, even in this grief, He leads. Be comforted in Him.

Be thankful, my friends, and remember the Cross as you gather together to celebrate.