In response to a challenge to identify 5 positive things from last year, I wrote down 5 reasons to give thanks, in 2020, 2021 and any year really. There are always good things to be thankful for at all times. Thanksgiving is such a great holiday because it focuses in on that attitude of gratitude. And that's something we should remember every day. That said, here are 5 positives for me from 2020.
#1 Above all- The Lord Jesus Christ. He is always my ultimate reason to be thankful and stay positive. By faith in His substitutionary death and Resurrection that paid for all the sins of the world, I know my many sins are forgiven and I'm delivered from the Hell I deserve and instead given the Heaven I don't. God has shown Himself faithful time and again and I am always ultimately thankful for His love and providence.
#2 Nature - I have long enjoyed exploring God's creation and I did a lot more of that last year and I am grateful for that opportunity to commune with Him there. Every so often, I love to get away to a quiet place outside by myself and spend a good length of time reading The Bible and praying, as well as writing down any insights The Spirit might show me. Those times of sweet surrender have always been good for me spiritually as well as physically in some ways too.
#3 Family - I am always thankful for my family and make an effort to keep up with them. I am thankful for the opportunities I had to spend with family throughout last year, whether just spending time at home playing games or going for walks and hikes or going to church in the park throughout the summer. (I would like that last one to be an option even when there's not a pandemic going on. :-)) I constantly pray God would bless and use me and my family for His glory and I praise God for all of them.
#4 Friends - I am blessed to have some wonderful, loving and caring friends who have stuck by me through the years and I hold them very dear, particularly those who are very close to me. As Philippians 1:7 says, I hold them in my heart. And I pray for them regularly. And I am thankful for the time I got to spend with them, whether in person outside at a distance or just on the telephone or video chat. I am also very thankful for the many options for staying in touch with my friends around the world. (It was particularly neat to be able to message friends on three different continents to ask for prayer in the middle of the night since I knew they'd be up- and they are some of my closest friends anyway, even though they are some of the furthest away. And I felt the power of those prayers and again thank God for answering as He did.)
#5 Finances - I am certainly mindful of those around the world who have had their lives so disrupted by C19 and have lost jobs and loved ones. I mourn for them and pray for them. I am very thankful to have maintained a job and had a steady income from that job and had my needs met. In fact, partially because of opportunities opened by the pandemic, I was able to save some money and earn extra money through working extra hours. I was able to accomplish some long-standing goals of paying off a number of debts! I am still not totally clear of all debt but I am in a much better place financially. I have been able to turn around and use money now freed up to increase what I normally give and be more generous in giving towards ministries and charitable causes. I am glad to be able to serve God more through investing in His kingdom more in that way.
There are many more things I could say as well, but those are some things I am grateful for about the last year and in every year, really. Praise God for His faithfulness! I look forward to seeing how He will work and use me for His glory in this year. And, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless us- everyone! :-)
Amen!
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