Giving Thanks

A few days ago, I was praying and I started thanking God for the snow. My eyes immediately filled with tears, and I was kind of surprised by this response. I am very aware of the fact that I *love* snow. That was not news to me. What I wasn’t aware of was what would happen inside of me when I thanked God for it. 

Being thankful for the snow is different than giving thanks for the snow.

I can be thankful for a gift that someone gave me without ever actually thanking the person who gave it to me. I can tell my friends how thankful I am for Colt and not ever actually thank Colt. 

I know this isn’t rocket science, but I personally feel significance in the Holy Spirit revealing this to me and so I want to share. It is important that we not only are a thankful people, but that we are a people who give thanks. 

Giving thanks to a person involves intimacy and connection. It does something to us when we thank God, when we thank the person who actually created the thing that we love and enjoy, when we thank the giver of the gift. There is a deeper gratefulness and a deeper thankfulness to be found when we actually give thanks to God. 

I’m not sure how your day has gone, but over here, I’m feeling pretty done. Done with teaching my kids, done with fun things being cancelled, done cooking, done cleaning, done stepping in wet puddles in my socks. BUT - thanksgiving is a weapon. When I start thanking God, things shift. In fact, I’m going to go spend some time right now doing that because my spirit needs it badly. Join me!