Today I Choose to be a Pippin: In Honor of Thanksgiving

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." ~ Colossians 3:17

Dear Reader,

So it's Thanksgiving again. That one day where we pull out our best tablecloths, brace ourselves for a frantic day of cooking, and manage forced smiles as guests pull in at the driveway. That one day where we frantically rack our brains for something to share, other than the usual "friends, family, and food" speech. 

And today, as I sit down with a bowl of nachos beside me, I feel so ashamed. Ashamed of myself and my own ungratefulness and how I take all of this wonderful life for granted.

Oh God, I am so hypocritical. 

Recently, He's been teaching me a lesson. I've grown to realize, through family and friends, how easily I'm swayed and discouraged by simple things, whether other people or my own emotions. But God doesn't want that. He hates the ingratitude in me, and He's trying to change me into someone who's constantly thankful, constantly searching for the good in everything, constantly encouraging and positive.

One thing that few people know about me is that I used to struggle with pretty intense depression. I still do occasionally. And one thing I've realized is how self-focused my depression is. I mean, this is me, okay? I've never experienced a serious accident, been deathly ill, suffered emotional trauma. I'm just an everyday teenage girl in the suburbs of Seattle, and my struggles are so minimal. The occasional physics homework. My own un-coordination in karate. The disappointment after too high of an expectation of a guy. Look, I've never even had an official breakup. My troubles are nothing. Yet, I somehow make them into everything. 

And my depression and those occasional bad days taught me some valuable lessons. 

It's when I take my focus off of God and His goodness that I fall. 

It's when I choose to pinpoint and inspect the little dirt specks in my life, instead of the enormous riches I have in Christ, that I fall.

It's when I focus on self and not God that I fall.

Suddenly what he said or what she did seems so important and enormous and powerful. Suddenly what I want seems to be so encompassing that I cannot think of anything else. Suddenly every other good and perfect gift seems so unimportant and minuscule compared to my great burden. 

Forgive me, Lord, for focusing on myself, when everything good and worth-knowing is in You. Forgive me for being so self-centered. Will You help me look to You this Thanksgiving? Will You help me give thanks in You? For You are the crux of everything worth giving thanks for.

Without the cross, our health, our family, our friends can all be snatched away, along with all the joy and thanksgiving in our lives. Without the cross, our thanks-giving becomes a ranting about our temporary happiness. Without the cross, Thanksgiving just becomes a day where we can feel good about our own lives.

Yet, all these things can't satisfy us. Friends nor family nor food nor material goods. Nor money nor fame nor expensive vacations. People will hurt us, either intentionally or unintentionally. Things break and tear, and food gets eaten all too quickly. Nothing lasts for forever, and everything has consequences.

Although these blessings are blessings in the right place in the right time, I understand that they will fail us. Yet, we need to give thanks even when we don't have anything to be thankful for. It's a command. We are commanded to give thanks in all circumstances, even if we have literally nothing. 

And so I've learned whenever depression hits to just stop. Stop thinking about myself and my own problems and start thinking about the Savior and His goodness. Because sometimes bad things do happen and people say mean things and material things get old. We all have those days. But when that happens, we need to be able to look to the cross above the storm.

For only Jesus can truly satisfy.

Only Jesus can enable us to give thanks in all circumstances.

Because seriously, Jesus has bought eternity for me. He has saved me. I was a prisoner to sin. I struggled to do good without any hope of being good. I was blind to myself and my own chains, and He set me free! He really has. Instead of trying to be good, He has been my good enough. And I am so extremely, incredibly blessed to be His child. To be able to be called His daughter and to be loved by the Creator of the universe. To now have the hope of living eternally with Him and enjoying His peace and strength here on earth. That now, when troubles strike, I can lean on the Almighty God above. That I don't need to worry about life and my future because He has the perfect plan in mind for me.

And so I can give thanks and look for the good in everything. I can smile and say with true conviction that I am blessed and all is well and God is good. 

Because when Christ is the center of our universe, nothing can shake us. Everything has a purpose. What he said, what she did, what grade we got - everything matters. God meant for that to happen, and it's all part of His encompassing, sovereign plan.

Because when Christ is our all in all, nothing else matters. Neither the newest iPhone nor that boy in school. Nothing can supply the unconditional love He provides, and nothing can replace or diminish His goodness and grace and mercy and love. Nothing. No one.

Because when all perfect gifts come from the One who embodies all perfection, we can see His signature in everything, in every day. 

I dare you this Thanksgiving to look for God's autograph in the world. To look beyond our own struggles and to see His face through the storm. To become so engrossed in our Savior that nothing, nothing at all will be able to shake our satisfaction in Him. 

Happy Thanksgiving!