Gratitude Series: A Place of Belonging
by Joy Cofield
Thanksgiving has always been a very special week of blessing for me. For as long as I can remember, it was a time of gatherings for our immediate family, i.e. my parents, 3 brothers and me and our extended family which included our grandparents and friends. After Jim and I married, our celebrations of the season expanded to his family as well.Delicious food, fun games, and engaging conversation with rippling sounds of laughter (and sometimes tears) were all ways of celebrating that we were all together again! We all looked forward to it with great anticipation....and we still do. Year to year, there may be changes in who is able to come together, but there is still a sense of being thankful that we all belong to our family.Thanksgiving, other major holidays, and even birthdays are a reminder to me that we belong to a community of people whether to our family, our circle of friends, our church community or all three. And, of course, our greatest sense of belonging is that as believers and followers of Christ, we belong to Him as His beloved children.I am thankful for this season of reflection. My gratitude is that in my soul, I have a “place of belonging” to Christ, to myself, to my family, and friends.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!