Thankful Through Dessert

I think, as Christians, we tend to overcomplicate things. We overthink what the Lord has intended for us, and we under-think decisions that lead us astray from His plan.

This is just one reason I love serving in the kid’s room at church.

Each Sunday, they have to use their best “listening ears” on the square carpet for a 5-minute story. (You would not believe how hard it is to sit still for five minutes when you’re 4, but that’s for another time.)

Each story is on theme with whatever is happening that month. So, can you guess what November is about?

Yup. Thankfulness.

I had a pretty good idea how these lessons would go. We would explain what it’s like to be thankful. The kids would make a list of what they were thankful for— most of this list will be some variation of the McDonalds menu— and we would move on to our craft time.

Unsurprisingly, the Lord had something a little extra for me today.

In the midst of potty breaks, Chex crumbs, and “Miss Carlie, I have to tell you something RIGHT NOW,” I used my own listening ears. In this chaos, the Lord used the sweetest story to soften my heart.

Today’s story came from the theatrical retelling’s of my husband and the book of Luke.

It begins with Jesus traveling along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he passed through a village, he came across 10 men with leprosy.

Just in case you forgot, leprosy was one of the most alienating diseases to have. You were banished from your town, your family, and any sort of life you once knew. You lived and died in pain, and isolation.

This is where we pick up.

“[The men] stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests. ”And as they went, they were cleansed.”

So, the story is happy right? Jesus cleansed the men. He saw their pain, commanded them, and from this encounter, they were healed.

A lot of my life has looked like this. Pain, prayer, healing. Despair, prayer, understanding. Sadness, prayer, joy.

Each time I need Jesus, I fall to my knees, cry out, and He shows up. Sometimes it takes longer than I planned, or turns out different than I thought, but there has never once been a time where His goodness and grace didn’t carry me through the storm.

End of story, right?

“15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

It never really occurred to me that maybe I was missing the sweetest part of our relationship with Jesus. It’s always been: need, prayer, resolution.

But what about thanksgiving?

When is the last time you truly thanked God, not just for the prayers He’s answered, but for all the blessings you didn’t even realize you received? Have you thanked Him for anything?

When we go through the motions of life, our prayers and thoughts become repetitive, and lose meaning.

Has he not healed us? Has he not shown us endless grace—far more than we deserve?

This season, I encourage you to see Jesus through the eyes of a child again. Don’t overcomplicate your relationship.

Thank Him for His presence, and SHOW UP for Jesus when He shows up for you. This means thanking Him for answered and unanswered prayers. For the sun. For your trials. For puppies. For Thanksgiving pie.

Even when the storm has calmed, the plates have been cleared, your life has settled down, thank Him.

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For Bible plans about Thanksgiving, start here.