The Olive Branch

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, this is he perfect time to talk about the importance of thankfulness. The Bible says to “enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise”. (Psalm 100:4) Meaning, every time we begin to pray we should start by expressing our gratitude to the Lord. When you’re going through something, it can be hard to feel thankful. You could even find yourself thinking, “What do I have to be grateful for? There are too many bad things going on in my life.” But that is a horrible mindset. Sometimes we forget how good we have it. Most likely if you’re reading this you have access to an electronic, you have a warm bed to sleep in at night, you have food on your table. Even if you have none of those things, you have a God who loves you and died for you. I think that’s reason enough to be praising and thanking God. I encourage you to make a list in your head of the things and people your thankful for. You’d be surprised by how quickly your list piles up. Even down to the little things like a hairbrush, or a fan in your room for hot summer nights. As humans, there are so many things we long for and that’s okay. What’s not okay is when our happiness depends on the things we can’t have. There is a song by James Wilson called “Done Enough”. The lyrics say “If you never do anything else, you’ve already done enough.” We are already so blessed and we need to be content with our lives. God’s been so good to us and he deserves all praise for that. We should also be constantly expressing gratitude to the people in our lives, such as our parents, teachers, and friends for being there for us. We should strive to have thankful hearts and be conscious of when someone deserves a “Thank You”. Do you tell the doctor thank you after a check up, or perhaps a music teacher after a lesson, or your pastor after a good sermon? The truth is, it’s super encouraging to hear that your efforts aren’t all for nothing, and that people appreciate you and what you do for them. So, go into every situation with a thankful heart, whether that be in a classroom, going out to eat, or during your time of prayer. There is so much to be thankful for.

Sincerely, Olivia

Pslam 100: 4-5 “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”