Have You Given Thanks Today?

"Heavenly Father, we thank You and praise You for this day."

Have I given thanks?  You betcha.  I do every night at the beginning of our nightly family prayers as we put our son to bed.  That covers all the bases, right?  I'm supposed to thank God for everything He has done, and that pretty well does it.

Do you see the errors in my thinking?  I sure do.  My efforts to streamline our nightly prayers meant that I wasn't giving God the glory where it was due.  I guess I've always realized the error of my ways, but it wasn't until a drive home after work that God spoke to me about this issue.

It was last Thursday, May 12th, that God had a little chat with me as my son and I were heading home after a long day of school, work, and errand running.  I remember the color of the sun setting in the West - bright red due to the wildfires going on in our area.  I looked through the rear view mirror at Noah and said, "Wow, bud, God is blessing us with an amazing sunset tonight.  I'm thankful we get to see it as we drive home."  Right then and there, God spoke.

"Have you given thanks today?"

Hmmm.  Well.  Didn't I just give thanks for that sunset in front of me?

In an instant, I was hit with a flurry of verses.
     *1 Thessalonians 5:8 - Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
     *Ephesians 5:20 - Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
     *Colossians 3:17 - And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,   do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Then came all the things that I should be giving thanks for.
     *That sunset?  God made it for me to see at that very moment.
     *The fact that since my husband has been deployed, I haven't had to make a single phone call to a repairman.
     *I've got so much food in my fridge that I have to throw things out that I haven't even been able to use.
     *Noah and I have driven from place to place in complete safety.
     *I'm healthy!
     *I've got a warm bed to sleep in every night.
     *My mom.  She's one of the greatest support systems I have, and God got her home safely after a recent trip.
     *In a time where jobs are scarce, I have one that I enjoy.

The list went on.

By the time I got home, my head was spinning, and I was feeling quite guilty.  There are so many things to be thankful for that I have no way to give thanks for each and every one.  I'd be praying for days if I did that.

God whispered one last time as I opened the door to our home.  "Give thanks with a grateful heart..."

All right, Lord, You got me.  I get it now.  I don't need to give thanks every single day for every single thing in my life.  I just need to give thanks for the things that I'm most grateful for in each day.

In keeping along with my being honest about my conversations with God, I'll tell you exactly what I heard from the Big Man after my holy light bulb moment.

"There.  That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

Dear God, I love how you teach me things.

 And at that moment, I gave thanks.