Be Thankful In ALL Things???

One of the wonderful things about holidays is that they are typically times of tradition.  We do the things we have done for years before, and that familiarity is something we value.  The meals we eat, the places we visit, and, most of all the people, we share these times with. 

My family’s normal routine is to go to the White house.  Not the White House, but the home of my uncle, Andy White, who lives in Brandon and hosts my mom’s side of the family for an incredible feast every Thanksgiving (and often Christmas, too.)  It is a wonderful time of food and laughter and food and stories and food. 

I love this tradition; but this year will be different.

This year we are traveling to Georgia where my family of five will spend three nights in a cramped hotel room.  Instead of the traditional Thanksgiving feast and familiar faces, my sister and brother-in-law will fix boudin, there will be people there who I did not grow up with, and last but certainly not least, I will have to travel either through or around Atlanta to get there!  It doesn’t sound like a recipe for celebration so much as it sounds like a recipe for frustration.

And that is part of my problem, and our problem.  When we think of Thanksgiving we think of all the things that are right with our world.  We think of our pleasant relationships, our proud accomplishments, and, probably a bit too much, our luxuries and conveniences.  We might be tempted to think about the way that we are “better off” than the rest of the world – and who can blame us when we are free from the threat of persecution, war, and famine.  But that is not all that we need to be thankful for.

The apostle Paul was writing to the church at Thessalonica when he said, “Always be joyful.  Never stop praying.  Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NLT)  This is one of those passages that a preacher might be tempted to beat you over the head with on Sunday morning – and given without any background that might seem to be exactly what Paul is doing himself!  But Paul was not writing this to a group of people who had everything going for them.  No, the church at Thessalonica was one that had experienced persecution and hardship.  They were not a people who “had it all together” but instead were a people who were struggling to understand what it meant to be a Christ-follower in a world that seemed anything but Christian.

And so it can be with us.  We can be in places that are confusing and troubling.  Our world – as we define it – may be turned upside down.  And the last thing we want is some punk preacher wearing a Polo sweater-vest to tell us to “be thankful”!  Here is where I think it is helpful to draw some distinctions, although my own theology may be different from your own.

We are not thankful for those bad times, tragic events, and broken relationships.  These are not things that we would say are good and deserving of gratitude.  But isn’t it interesting how it is those times that seem to bring us to a place of reflection and humility.  I would probably not appreciate my close personal relationships were it not for the fact that I had failed in a few of those relationships so miserably.  Although I do not think that God was the cause of these experiences, I am thankful not only that God brought me through those failures but that I was able to grow closer to him in spite of them. 

Remember, according to some, the original Thanksgiving celebration came at a time when half of the Pilgrims had died coming to the New World, and it was during less than ideal circumstances that Abraham Lincoln declared the first national celebration of Thanksgiving. 

When we are thankful, even in the midst of great difficulty, we are acknowledging that we are a people of hope.  We acknowledge that our own understanding is greatly limited.  And we remember that God has been with us through many trials before and God will be with us in many trials to come.