Thankful Hearts

When Carrie asked me to write something for Bible Nerds on being thankful, I literally laughed. Not at her or her request, because I was, and am very honored. I was laughing at God and how He does things. Like how He will just bust in on us, and ask us to do something that is the polar opposite of how we are feeling (feelings, ugh… that is for a different piece.)

My response to Carrie was all, "Of course, I will!!" all Smiley Smilerson and emoji hearts (insert eye-roll at myself right here).

My response to the Lord was vastly different "Oh, okay, Lord. Write something about thankfulness.” (Insert dripping Sarcasm here.)

Where shall I begin?

Oh, I know!

How about the fact I am 56 and single? Not 56 and divorced, or widowed, or separated. No, 56 and single, like never married single. Like single, single. Like a Nun. Like a Nun-who never wanted to be a Nun-but-lives like-a-Nun-Nun, A Non-Nun-Nun!

Or how about my back?

What about my failed back surgery and two car wrecks that resulted in nine, yes I said NINE, herniated discs that hurt me 24/7? Should I talk about that?

Or if we really want to be thankful let's talk about my relationship with my--- It was right about there in my sad and angry and pitiful rant that I came to myself. Do you ever do that? Do you ever catch a glimpse of yourself in a mirror while you're changing clothes, or heaven forbid bending over, and you don't even recognize what or who you are seeing to the point that you jump and make that little noise that is almost a scream because you are POSITIVE someone or something has broken into your house because what you are looking at is just too horrific and ugly? Well, that is exactly what I thought when I heard myself: GROSS!!

But y’all... Thank goodness for the sweet and gentle kindness of God that always redirects and refocuses our vision and attention on the truth of His love.

The truth is that thankfulness is not a list of good things, but real thankfulness is a way of life.

It's not just a “30 Days of Thankfulness” post on social media. True thankfulness is peace, it is a resting place in our hearts because we have learned (from what we have walked through) these two important truths:

1. Life will humble you, and

2. You were never in control to begin with.

Let that sink in for a minute.

Paul tells us in Philippians 4:4 to, "Rejoice in the Lord always; And again I say Rejoice." He says it twice. Now if you just stop reading there, it kind of makes us sound a little bit crazy, right?

“I mean, are you telling me to rejoice about this cancer, Lord? To rejoice because I lost my child?" No, not like that.

But you see, hearts that are rejoicing and full of thankfulness have ZERO to do with outside circumstances.

When you continue to read in verse 6, he again gives us a key.

"Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything, tell God what you need and then thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.”

And there it is:

The key to living a life of thanksgiving is SURRENDER.

Surrender when we don't understand.

When it doesn't make sense.

When we can't see the next step.

When the tears won't stop.

When it feels like too much.

When the pain threatens to consume us.

When we don't know how we will pay rent AND buy food.

When we have a job but can't afford gas to get there.

When our child is lost.

When the treatment didn't work.

When you are exhausted and ragged and broken and bleeding, and you just want to end it all to stop the pain... AND AGAIN I SAY REJOICE!!!

Even then, especially then, don't worry about anything. Pray about everything! Tell God what you need and thank Him for what He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, the peace that surpasses anything we can understand. Thanksgiving equals peace, and peace equals joy.

A heart of thanksgiving says “I don't understand it, but I trust You. I don't see anything changing, but I know you're working. I can barely get out of bed, but your Word says I am healed. I don't have the money but your Word says you will supply all my needs according to your riches in Glory. So I thank you God!”

Thank you God!! Thank you Jesus! Thank you. Thank you, Thank You. Thank you. Thank You.Thank you. Let the words, “thank you” take the place of every single other word.

Thank you.

Thank you that you know.

Thank you that you see.

Thank you that you’ve got it.

Thank you that we are my answer. Thank you that you are my shelter. Thank you that you are the lover of my soul, the lifter of my head, the author and finisher of my faith. Thank you that you are ALL. Thank you for loving me God.

Thankfulness y'all…Selah... (take a minute and rest here.)

Thankfulness: it is the key - the key that leads to the peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding, and when we have that peace that surpasses all that we can not understand, well that, my friends, leads us right to the place where it no longer matters, and our thankful hearts will win every time.

Happy THANKFUL Thanksgiving!

Love y'all,

Jennifer Cannon