Giving Thanks

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:6-7

It seems that overflowing with thankfulness is something I oftentimes forget to do. I'm grateful only for fleeting moments until anxieties and worries rear their nasty heads. Why is it that bad mojo always inhabits 90% of thought, time, and energy, whereas stuff that brings joy and contentment is kept to a mere 10%? This is one of the many reasons why I love Thanksgiving. A whole day devoted to overflowing with thankfulness. My family has had Thanksgiving at our Lakehouse ever since we've had the Lakehouse, barring the year I was in second grade and we went to New York, but even then the rest of our family was still at the Lakehouse having Thanksgiving. And we've had the Lakehouse for a pretty long time. My great-grandfather built it. I should probably know when. (I don't.) Regardless, Thanksgiving meal at the Lake is tradition. Was tradition. Earlier this fall, the Lakehouse was consumed by the wildfires rolling across East Texas. This Thanksgiving was our first without the Lakehouse. It was weird. We were able to feast at a family member's cabin close by, so after eating we drove to Bear Creek for the customary walk around the Lake, only this time included a walk through the rubble as well. At a point in our afternoon, the family gathered to share what we were thankful for. Now, when we do this, we go oldest to youngest. This means that all of the obvious answers are taken by the time it comes to me. On one hand, I don't want to just repeat what everyone else has said, but on the other hand I feel like a jerk when everyone else is thankful "to be here together" and I say something like "Mexican food". It's a conundrum. Usually I try to split the difference and say something unique, but still pertaining to everyone else. This year was no exception. I'm thankful that, even though we loved the Lakehouse, even though I would pick the Lakehouse over anywhere else in the world to have Thanksgiving, even though the tradition and memories reside there, even though it's been this way for longer than I can remember, we still get together as a family, we still have Thanksgiving, and no matter where we are we can still overflow with thankfulness.

I think I got comfortable with the Lake being the place for Thanksgiving. That's where we give thanks. That's where we count our blessings. That's where we overflow with thankfulness. Really, though, we should be doing all of those things regardless of where we are or what day of the year it is. So my Thanksgiving resolution, born from the ashes, is to overflow with thankfulness. All. The. Time. Besides, isn't that what we've been called to do all along?

What was:

What is: