(Today’s normal reading will be on Saturday, Nov. 30th)

Special Reading – Psalm 100

Highlight Verse:

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭100‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Last night we struggled with how to seat 11 people at the dinner table today.

It was a good problem to have. We eventually arrived at a satisfactory solution.

In the process, I had to think of my growing up days. Thanksgiving was often spent with my Godparents. Their family of 6 would come eat with our family of 7 or vice versa.

There was always a kids table.

It was usually chaos.

It was awesome.

Times were not always good back then. More often than not, they were pretty bad.

But there was always something to be thankful for – dear friends, family, food on the table (even if we knew there’d be turkey sandwiches for at least a week).

Sometimes it can seem like there is nothing to be thankful for.

I’ve lived long enough to know that something good will come out of even the worst of times.

This year, I am thankful for family, for provision, and for God’s grace and mercy.

But I’m also thankful for the good that came from the bad: For the empathy that came from living through my parent’s divorce, for the reliance on God’s provision that came from the times of financial crisis, and even for the closeness to God that came out of my depression after my own divorce.

Sometimes God’s most precious gifts come from life’s hardest moments.

What good things are you thankful for today?
What good has come from bad situations in your life? Are you thankful for that?