The season of thankfulness. There are a lot of different things that go through my mind around this time of year. Thoughts of finals, break (praise be!), family, food…

I try really hard. My schedule looks like this:

Wake up early.

Class

Class

Class

Class

Class

Work

Work

Work

Work

Work

Go to sleep late.

And then I do it all over again.

In the craziness and the mess, I forget that my life is one gigantic blessing. And then this season comes: the fall. It brings with it this force that causes me to remember that I must stop and give thanks.

So I stop. I kneel and pray.

And it hits me.

Am I grateful? Do I remember that the things I have, and the opportunities I am presented with, are not my own?

If I was actually, really, truly, grateful, wouldn’t I be down on my hands and knees every day, thanking God???

I wonder sometimes if I forget that I’m not the one that makes things happen—He is—and I neglect to even celebrate with Him. I can very easily go through my day asking Him for stuff and then never thanking Him.

My pride fools me into believing that I am the one who has made my life a blessing.

Who do I think I am? I could not possibly be where I am without Him.

It’s a slap in the face to think about.

One day as I was taking care of this little five-year-old girl, she was jumping around and yelling "thank you! thank you!" to everyone who passed by. I finally asked her why she was saying thank you and she said, "oh just because it's nice."

God doesn't need to hear us say thank you. He doesn't really require anything of us. Just like a Father who cares for His children, He would care for us even if we ignored Him, but it's nice. He calls us to give Him praise. He loves to hear it. He loves to hear His little children exhale gratitude for what He has given us.

In this season, my prayer is to be authentically grateful. I hope that my spirit will be praise Him daily for what He does for me constantly.

I want to be honestly, really, truly, full of absolute awe and praise for what God has done for me. So here’s to this season of gratitude.

Happy Thanksgiving friends. I hope that you laugh, sleep in, eat really good food, enjoy wonderful company, and take the time to honor the one who blessed you with it all.