Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving. The time of the year when everyone is willing to admit they have blessings they haven't earned. 

Contrast that with the feeling that washes over me the instant after I do something stupid. It starts in the pit of my stomach, moves through my heart and lungs, and finally registers in my head and comes out in some sort of a wail through my mouth.

Regret.

That sickening feeling that I have done something against God, against myself or against my family. That feeling that no matter what I do or say or how much I pray, I can not take it back. Oh sure, there is forgiveness. But there are also consequences and the knowledge that I did that thing and can never erase what's been done.

The one feeling I purposefully live my life to avoid.

In this season of thankfulness, I try hard to stay focused on the blessings and not so much on my poor choices. One of my biggest regrets in life is that I didn't grab hold of a relationship with Jesus sooner. I lived so many wasted years wandering around with no purpose, no direction.

I cling to the picture that God gives me in the Bible. He promises that he will restore the years eaten away by locusts.

He's done that for me. He's healed me and given me purpose and passion. He's given me my own children to raise. And while they will never replace my birthdaughter, they have brought joy and life back into my existence.

So this Thanksgiving, I will choose to focus on those things. How about you?

Photo credit