Give Thanks and Keep Your Fork

image from here

“Jesus counts thanksgiving as integral in a faith that saves.” Ann Voskamp, 1000 Gifts

I’ve read words like these. I’ve probably even said something similar in a finer moment. I’ve intellectually grasped that if I have open hands, if I will blindly follow where I’m taken and trust…then sure, I can truly live. But, how do I operate out of a heart that is truly thankful for the good, the bad, and the ugly? How do I turn it all into praise?

That seems like a mighty big mountain to climb.

It probably starts with a concise, “hey, thanks.” It snowballs from a few minutes spent reflecting on prayers answered. It grows. Eyes are opened; lips more quickly offer gratitude for joys both big and small.

So, in this season, I’m practicing thanks. Like the single leper that went back to Jesus to acknowledge His healing, I will try and lift my head, turn back to Him, put one foot in front of the other, and try and cultivate a spirit that chokes out the words I’m trying to believe even as I say them. “I am undeserving. Come what may, I am thankful.”

Though the fig tree does not bud, and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

I heard the story once of a child sitting down to dinner at his grandma’s house. He struggled through his green beans, his salad. He poked and pushed the lovingly-prepared meal around his plate. As his grandmother came to collect his dish at dinner’s end, she looked at him, winked and whispered, “Keep your fork.”

In that instant, he perked up. Dessert was coming! And not just any old dessert. Not pudding or jello or anything of the like. This confection was sure to be substantial, requiring the strength of a fork to deliver each bite to his mouth. Now, that was something to look forward to.

I am the kid, you are him, too. We sit at the table. We sometimes turn our noses up at what we’ve been served. But, before this meal has concluded, we are told we can hang on to our forks. We can look forward to the sweetness that follows.

Listen, listen to me, and you will eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the finest of fare.

Praise the Lord. He is good. His love endures forever.