Happy Thanksgiving! I’m switching gears a bit this week’s episode as I share some thoughts on Thanksgiving, some personal Thanksgiving traditions and memories, and some encouragement for our real lives as we go. May this episode inspire you and me to live with a grateful heart, not just at Thanksgiving, but all the year through. Let’s get to it.
Three years ago the week before Thanksgiving I found myself walking through a myriad of emotions as I was at home recovering from a heart procedure. This cardiac ablation was to prevent my heart from going into a tachycardia rhythm, a rapid heart beat, because once it went into that rhythm, it wouldn’t get back out of it.
For example, the month before this, my heart went into that rhythm while I was sitting at my desk at work. It was if a switch turned on and my heart began beating as if I was exercising strenuously, at 170 beats per minute for hours, until the Emergency Department doc shocked it back into rhythm, twice.
I didn’t care to ever experience that again.
So, that experience led me to have this procedure in November 2018. While I recuperated at home, I was comforted knowing my doctor thought the ablation fixed my problem. But, time would tell. Experiencing many emotions afterwards, one stood out to me the most: thankfulness. My last thought I remember before going under anesthesia on that cold operating table was that I would either wake up in recovery or I would wake up and see Jesus standing before me. Thinking about it now brings a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes. But I knew no matter how the procedure turned out, it would be okay.
So ever since that year, Thanksgiving became more important to me. It was always a blessed holiday when we would gather together as a family, and sometimes we traveled to fun places over Thanksgiving. (I talk about that more later in the episode.) We created wonderful family memories together. But after this heart experience, Thanksgiving changed for me. I suddenly cared less about what food we were having at our Thanksgiving meal and more about us just being together as a family. I found myself more thankful for the little things in my life and the special moments only God and I knew about.
What became most important stemmed from a heart change. My heart changed, indeed, and not just because of my ablation. God got my attention that year, and not only rewired my heart through the procedure, but helped it be a little more grateful too.
A grateful heart changes everything.
I share in this episode how it does and why it does. And how our experiences over the last eighteen months in this pandemic have changed us and molded us to be a little more grateful. A grateful heart impacts everything!
A grateful heart also determines how you and I live, full and abundant lives, and it influences others around us. You’ll find more details inside this episode.
This is perfect timing for Thanksgiving week. Because out of gratefulness comes thankfulness. I share Bible verses that speak to thankfulness and the blessing of it in our lives. You and I have much to be thankful for!
Click on the player above to listen to the full episode. I pray you are blessed and encouraged.
A grateful heart is the source of thanksgiving, the day and the way of life.
As we each celebrate Thanksgiving 2021 (I share my plans inside), I pray it’s a special day, full of life and thankfulness. May your grateful heart and mine notice all the many blessings God has given us. Not only on Thanksgiving, but every single day.
God bless you! Thanks for tuning in!
Links in this episode:
- John 10:10b TPT
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV
- 15 Bible Verses Perfect for Thanksgiving on Resources page at julielefebure.com
- Psalm 30:12 CEV
- Psalm 95:2 GNT
- Psalm 9:1 NIV
- Encouragement for Real Life Community Facebook group
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