Yesterday was designated as a special day for the people of the United States to give thanks for all the blessings they have received in their lives. Over the years the holiday has also developed into a time when thousands gather around Thanksgiving dinner tables for a feast with family and friends. As they did so a lot of them took the time, just before partaking of their meal, to express their thankfulness specifically. The typical statement would probably have been “I’m thankful for…” The gratefulness expressed as praise for the person or things in their lives.
While I found myself thankful for many things in my life (my wife, my family, my church, my dogs, ventriloquism, financial stability, ect) this year I realized that I needed to express my thankfulness in a different way. While I still used the word “for” I found it quite necessary to use the word “to” preceding it. What I mean is that my expressions of thankfulness this year took the form of this phrase: “I am thankful to God for…”
As God works in my life and displays His Love and faithfulness more and more I find that my heart looks not to the specific blessings but to the Giver. The blessings themselves are wonderful but God is not Santa Claus. There are many places in the Bible that declare God as The Creator of everything in heaven and earth. Everything that is is because of Him. He is the One responsible for bestowing blessings upon me and thankfulness should be given directly to Him.
There is nothing in my life I could have received without God’s blessing and grace. Salvation from sin and the gift of eternal life through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, are the prime examples.
It is my prayer that as I live for God and grow in my relationship with Christ that I will learn to appreciate the things He leads me through, the people He allows me to love and have relationships with, the things He gives me, and the changes He creates within my heart. But of the utmost importance is that I develop a strong spirit of gratefulness for the Creator of the Universe as He shows His never ending love and faithfulness toward me.
The first step toward doing that is making my traditional statement of Thanksgiving one that includes two prepositions.
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