By Rusty Potter
Thanksgiving invites us to slow down and recognize the countless blessings we walk past every day. If you are reading this right now, you have something to be grateful for – life itself. There is blood still flowing through your veins, air moving in and out of your lungs, and your purpose still beating in your heart. You woke up this morning with another chance. Another chance to do better, another chance to make it happen. That alone is enough reason to lift our heads and say, “Thank You.”
We have weathered storms – literal and figurative. We’ve endured hurricanes, floods, COVID, and economic challenges, and tragedies that shook families in this community to their core. We’ve experienced loss. We’ve made mistakes. We’ve stumbled. Yet through every night, the sun kept rising. And here we are: still standing!
That survival is not accidental. It is the purpose that is within us. It is grace. It is a reminder that every day we remain on this earth, we have work left to do – work in our homes, our communities, our schools, our churches, and most importantly, within ourselves.
Being thankful doesn’t mean everything is perfect; it means we choose to focus on what is good even while acknowledging what still hurts. Hate, bitterness, resentment, and negativity cannot grow in a heart that is full of gratitude. When we shift our focus toward what we have instead of what we lack, our spirit naturally lightens, and our relationships begin to heal.
This Thanksgiving, let us pause to see how much we have to appreciate. When life seems overwhelming, we still have another day – a brand-new opportunity to make right what went wrong. Let us have a mindset that lifts instead of pulls down. A mindset that loves instead of judges. A mindset that thanks instead of complains.
Because when your heart is full of gratitude, there isn’t any room left for hate.
Happy Thanksgiving. May we always be too thankful to be hateful.
