I think
it’s fair to say that we all struggle with being thankful. The fact is, we are
by nature selfish people, and to be thankful we need to acknowledge that we
deserve nothing good, yet receive good anyway. On Thanksgiving, the day
associated with abundance of blessings as well as stuffing ourselves, we can
forget that we didn’t earn any blessing we’ve received. How can we take those
blessings and, rather than selfishly hoard them, give them to someone else who
needs help?
Make it a
ministry!
Don’t
bother inviting your great aunt’s cousins who live three states away…. Unless
it’s a good way to reach out to lonely people without Christ. Try these ideas
for turning your blessings into someone else’s blessing:
- Invite a struggling family to sit at your table with you.
- If you’re in a college town, invite over students who have no place to go, especially foreign students.
- Gather together with the widows in your church, or have a dinner for all the singles. Be their family for the holidays.
- If you’re feeling brave, invite your youth group! Some young people have broken homes, and they feel it during holidays.
- Bring a meal and company to those who are home-bound or in the hospital.
- Get in touch with a local homeless shelter, orphanage, or pregnancy center and see if there’s a Thanksgiving meal you can volunteer for.
“Trading
out” your traditional family Thanksgiving meal to bless someone else will not
be the end of the world; in fact, it may drive home the lesson of thankfulness
better than tradition can. A simple sacrifice on your part can be an open door
for sharing Jesus’ life-changing sacrifice with those around you.
What
other ideas do you have for turning Thanksgiving into a ministry? Leave a
comment about it!
Blessed,
Abby
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