We’ll be on the road soon, traveling to see loved ones tomorrow. But before we leave, I have a thought I’d like to share.
For so many, the weight of these holidays can be overwhelming. The memories they bring of loved ones and friends who have passed often bring tears to our eyes. It may seem hard to feel thankful when the burdens of life weigh so heavily on our souls. Yet, the same burdens we now bear have been carried by others for thousands of years. Now, it is simply your turn and mine.
I think I’ve found the solution, which is why it’s so easy for me to be thankful today. While I haven’t received many of the prizes others have been given, nor all the desires of my heart, I have received all that is needed to guide me to the Cross. Perhaps those goalposts I once sought would have become burdens I could not bear or distractions I could not resist. In His mercy, God has placed a modest path before me—a God-given purpose to be a blessing, and perhaps an answer to a prayer or two. Maybe that is your purpose, too. I don’t think there can be a higher calling.
So the cure is this: be that answer. Be a gift to others that keeps giving. Bless those who enter your life in some way, shape, or form, and let your gift to them lay a path toward eternity and everlasting life.
Many days from now, once we have reached our destination, we will sit at a very long table with my loved ones and friends, admiring a feast of manna, almonds, figs, pomegranates, grapes, and many other kinds of fruit set before us. There, I will remember that God has truly blessed me and I have received far more than I deserve. But at this particular table, a somberness will linger because this holiday is missing a few faces. Yet I take comfort in knowing those faces are now at peace, and I will embrace them one day on a glorious Sea of Glass.
“And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.” Revelation 15:2
So my advice to myself as this season of Thanksgiving approaches, is to reflect on the blessings I bring and focus on those I have received. If sadness overwhelms me, the antidote for such melancholy is to make others happy and bask in the joy they radiate as a result. The children will jump and play, while the adults will embrace you with thanks and sometimes happy tears.
This is just the beginning of our journey. It is a road trip frequented with marks, ruts, peaks, and valleys. Yet despite the ebbs and flows, we are graced with experiences that shape our character while preparing us to stand alongside many others at that great reunion—a gathering of those who also love Christ.
Once we reach this destination, I imagine we will all sing a song that no others can sing—a harmonious melody that will resonate between the worlds and throughout eternity.
We will sing it together.
For that, I am most thankful.
