It's Not Just About the Food...

Each Thanksgiving I have often considered answering the age-old question: 

"Which is better, pumpkin pie or sweet potato pie?"

Instead of this discussion I give thanks for what is truly a better way.

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.   -John 13:35

I give thanks for love.

I first give thanks for the love of God that has saved me. I think of the Cross of Christ and how not only my own life, but all of history, hinges on this event.

I next give thanks for the love of my family. I am thankful for the love of my parents that has never ceased. This is despite all my failings as a son and as a citizen. I will never forget how I asked my father, sarcastically, if he was proud of me after I had dropped out of college the first time (first of many).

His response?

"I have always been proud of you."

It wrecked me.

I give thanks for my own family that God has blessed me with. I am thankful for a wife who challenges me to be a better man and a better Christian. I thank God for my amazing children. 

Isaiah challenges me everyday to reevaluate how I view children. The boy is brilliant beyond years and has ironclad morals.  He is a prolific creator and has the potential to do great things.

Jonathan has a sweetness I cannot fathom.  He is motivated by helping people and truly mirroring Christ. His heart is such an encouragement to me.

Andrew is, in many ways, everything I want to be. He is bold, adventurous, intelligent, and confident. I often see him as a world traveler; popping in and out of our lives when he is an adult.

In heaven I have River waiting for me. I long to see this child. I often imagine hearing the laughter of a child in the streams of water that flow through the new Jerusalem.

Isabelle is a bundle of hope. Her joy and adorable nature is so different from my three boys. She has, in a sense, renewed my view of childlike faith.

I give thanks for this love I have been given. Time would fail for me to list all that causes me to give thanks.

I could list how thankful I am for my in-laws, who treat me like their own son and embody the opposite of "in-law jokes."

I could go on and on, but instead, I implore you to think of all the benefits you have in life. Think of all that God has done for his glory and your blessing.

And remember, it's not just about the food...

-Jason Vreeke