Abundant Thankfulness

The day is calm with the sun just rising. Those early morning trips to work bring a wealth of autumn beauty with sultry pockets of fog in low lying areas and crisp coloured leaves on the myriad of trees along my path. It is a lovely drive until disaster strikes.

A large metal object comes out of nowhere off the back of another vehicle. As it hurtles toward me, panic threatens to take hold. I cannot veer left or I will hit oncoming traffic. I cannot veer right or it will hit my driver’s window. In the flash of a second, I slam on the breaks, hoping to ease the impact.

It was one of those moments when I didn’t even have time to pray. Yet, our loving God knew I would face this moment. While I could not voice my need, the Holy Spirit did as Scripture promises – speaking the words for me.

Those moments – when we feel paralyzed – God is still working. He is there, ever present, ever knowing, ever powerful.

Whether He placed an angel in the way or gave me the fortitude to position my vehicle in the right place, I do not know. While I felt frozen in time, my time was in God’s hands. My SUV sustained physical damage, but I did not.

I was very shaken as I stopped to assess the damage and then make my way onwards to work. All I could think about was God saving me. My heart overflowed with thanks for His goodness and mercy.

As with many things in life, I am uncertain why this particular trauma entered my life at this time. It had been a challenging week with many issues pressing at me emotionally, physically, and psychologically. I really didn’t need one more thing going wrong or any more pressure.

But actually – maybe I did need one more thing – a serious thing. As I drove onward to work that day, I realized that much of what had been troubling me paled in comparison to a vehicle accident. I had been so caught up in so many things that I forgot a very important part of my well-being – living a life praising God.

Abundant thankfulness changes us. If we let our troubles overwhelm us, we cannot be the instruments that God needs us to be. Having a thankful heart gets us focusing on what God is doing, not what we have to do.

I had been letting my long to do lists rule my life and stress me out. That is not what God’s plan is for me. He gave me a wakeup call – again.

On this day of Thanksgiving, I am over the moon grateful for God saving me – both spiritually and physically. I pray that I can keep that in mind daily. A thankful heart is sure better than a stressed out one.

My friend, have a blessed Thanksgiving. No matter what your circumstances, there are things in your life for which to be thankful. May that be your focus.

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