Six years ago I sat at our Thanksgiving table surrounded by family and laughter, while inside my heart felt as heavy as a bowling ball and I was on the verge of bursting into tears. Everything was perfect – delicious food, beautiful decorations, my favorite people. But my Lexi was missing, and she would never be there again. Going through the day without her was hard, but the thought of all the holidays to come produced more anxiety in my heart than I could bear. The future seemed to hold a lifetime of sorrowful Thanksgivings.

God has something to say about anxious hearts in His Word.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

My life had been forever changed; how could I not be anxious about the future? But these verses offer help with how to handle our anxieties: pray about them! Bring our burdens and troubles to God. All of them! But two very important words stand out: with thanksgiving.

Somehow when we bring our burdens before God while also thanking him for our blessings, we begin to realize the greatness of what we have, and our troubles become smaller and more manageable.

Four hundred years ago on a fall day in Plymouth, Massachusetts, a group of Christians met with a group of Indians to celebrate a successful harvest that year. Just over fifty colonists were in attendance at the feast. But sadly, this was only a portion of the original group that had arrived in the new land a year earlier. Almost half of the colonists, including all but four women, had died due to cold and disease the winter before. Every single person at the table that first Thanksgiving Day had tragically lost a mother, father, spouse, child, or close friend just months earlier. But although they were experiencing deep pain and loss, they did not let it stop them from honoring God for his goodness and provision.  

It’s interesting that from the secular world, we hear about Thanksgiving in a very abstract way. Thanksgiving is a time when everyone meets together to be thankful. But thankful to whom? Can we give thanks without having someone or something to offer it to? G.K. Chesterton stated, “The worst moment for an atheist is when he feels thankful and has no one to thank.”

The colonists during that first Thanksgiving were very intentional in their gratitude – it was directed toward their heavenly Father who had led them to the New World, guided them through troubles and hardships, and now also showered them with blessings. 

There is so much more to just being thankful. It is about giving God the glory for our blessings. 

And Phil 4:7 gives us a beautiful promise: when we bring our burdens to God with a state of gratitude, his peace will guard our hearts and minds. 

That first Thanksgiving without Lexi, I remember looking around the room and realizing that I didn’t know what the next year would bring. Each person there was a gift that I could not take for granted; I needed to soak up and enjoy every moment that I was spending with each one of them. As I considered my blessings, especially God’s provision through a very rough year and his gift of salvation, which brought with it the hope of seeing my daughter again, a feeling of peace and contentment filled my soul.

How could that be? How could my heart be in such pain, but still feel such peace? Paul says that the peace of God is “beyond understanding.” Somehow even in the midst of tumultuous circumstances, God still provides a sense of calm and security that soothes our souls. It’s unexplainable.

Six years later, holidays still carry a longing for that girl who is off celebrating in heaven without me. But with each passing year, my heart finds more of that underlying, beautiful, amazing, beyond-understanding peace.

 Lord, we praise you today for your great love and constant provision. Fill us with your everlasting peace as we intentionally offer our thanks to you this week.