The Thanksgiving Jar by Christy Miller

 

A few weeks ago, I realized my pantry had gotten out of control over the summer. When fall started, I had to rummage through all my deep, previously micro-organized shelves if I needed a can of green beans or a bottle of ranch dressing.

It was time to clean the pantry.

While pulling out the contents of a high shelf, I found a mason jar filled with slips of paper. I immediately recognized it as a years-old thankfulness jar.

I climbed off the ladder and left the mess of a partially cleaned pantry, suddenly needing to read all those little pieces of paper and recall the Lord’s goodness to us.

Among the remembrances, I read:

 

First day in two weeks that my husband was headache free.

A deep gash in his hand had healed.

The cellulitis in my foot was better.

An old classmate visited our church for the first time.

We made our last car payment.

           

            But the best testimony of the Lord’s faithfulness was a November word from God regarding the small, struggling church my husband pastors: “Hold out until Eastertime, and things will turn around.”

            And they did.

            In some ways, I think the Thanksgiving season is even better than Christmas, because we remember to thank our Lord God for His blessings and the mercy He has shown us during the year. He loves to receive our thanks, as we read in dozens of Bible verses. Here are a few:

1 Thessalonians 5:18: In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Ephesians 5:19–21: And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Psalm 140:13: Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name;
The upright shall dwell in Your presence.

Psalm 118:1: Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

Colossians 4:2: Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.

 

Do you keep a thankfulness jar? In the past, I started a new one on my birthday. Then when my next birthday rolls around, I spend time that day reading the wonderful things Jesus did for us the past year, and then I start another one.

 This year, I plan to begin a new jar on Thanksgiving instead of waiting until my March birthday. Will you join me in celebrating God’s goodness and mercy by starting a thankfulness jar on November twenty-sixth?

About Christina Miller

Christina Miller has always lived in the past. Her passion for history began with her grandmother's stories of 1920s rural southern Indiana. When Christina began to write fiction, she believed God was calling her to write what she knew: history.

Bethany College of Missions graduate, pastor's wife, and worship leader, she lives on the family's farm with her husband of twenty-eight years and Sugar, their talking dog.