A Thanksgiving’s Rest
by Pamela Gauthier
In this month of November, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. We will give thanks for God and Country, our families, good food, and many other things. It is interesting to note that thanks have to be offered willingly. It is a choice. In many situations, there may be times when we feel like we don’t have anything left to give. It can feel as if we have given our all, leaving us with an attitude of anything but being thankful. This is the perfect time to pull aside and be embraced by the loving arms of our Father.
In Mark 6:31 NLT, Jesus said to His disciples, “let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” The reason Jesus said this was because there were so many people coming and going, they didn’t even have time to eat. This is so familiar and relatable to us today. We can become so busy that we don’t even have time to grab a bite to eat.
I remember a time in my life that I was found in this same place. The “bu-si-ness”, of job, family, friends, and church was overwhelming. These were all great things, but I was at my wit’s end, and my life was out-of-order. I felt so confused at this time. Jesus began to call me aside each day to a quiet rest in Him. This is where I learned to hear His voice on a regular basis, and began to feel much leading and direction. My first offering of thanks was to Him. The word “order” was born in my life. It just fit perfectly, and whatever didn’t fit and wasn’t priority had to go.
Although Jesus had taken His disciples away from the noise and distraction, the crowd still followed them. The disciples were troubled because they were in a remote place with no food. The disciples could not understand how 5000 people were going to be fed in the middle of nowhere. Many times this is how we feel when we can’t keep up with our schedules. We come to the place of not knowing what to do. This is when we have to trust God.
Jesus challenged His disciples by telling them to feed the crowd that followed them. The disciples realized they did not have the means to feed them. They only had five loaves and two fish and realized this was not enough. This place of impossibility taught them that Jesus was the only answer. After Jesus offered the bread up to God and blessed it, He gave it to His disciples to feed the crowd. The disciples received the miracle of multiplication as each person was fed. They even had left-overs.
When we surrender to the quiet place of rest in Jesus, we can watch Him work the miraculous and re-order our lives for His Glory. It is there we find the joy of giving thanks, first to Him and then for others! Happy Thanksgiving!
HeARTune Creations Poetry, LLC., is owned by Pamela Gauthier. Pamela is a writer and poet, who has been writing for over 20 years. She formally started her poetry as a business in October of 2013.
Her poetry has been at several boutiques and stores in the Baton Rouge area. Pamela is a native Baton Rougean, who has lived here all of her life. She is the wife of Ronnie Gauthier, and the mother of four: Mrs. Jamie Baham, Mrs. Jessica Chatman, Joshua and Joseph Gauthier. She is also the proud Grandmother of Five.
Pamela started her writing journey by writing poetry as a way to uplift the spirits of those in nursing homes and the like. This is still the goal today, to touch hearts and lives wherever encouragement is needed.
