Thanksgiving looked a little bit different this year. My first Thanksgiving away from my family.

The evening before Thanksgiving day my heart was broken. I realized that I wasn’t going to wake up in the morning and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade with my mom, eat my Grammy’s delicious cooking, watch Christmas movies all day, or spend quality time with my family.

So I cried out to the Lord. I have learned that when hard times come, it is so much easier to just run to the Lord first instead of questioning His goodness. He is my comforter.

I glanced down and saw the tattoo on my forearm that says, eucharisteo.

In the original language, “He gave thanks” reads “eucharisteo”. The root word of eucharisteois charis, meaning “grace.” Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace and gave thanks. The bread that represents His body, broken for our transgressions. He took the bread and knew it to be a gift and gave thanks.

“And  He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’” (Luke 22:19)

Eucharisteo also holds its derivative chara, meaning “joy”. So joy comes from giving thanks to God for His grace. Grace is always present, thanks can always be given, so joy is always in our grasp.

One of my favorite authors, Ann Voskamp, writes “…life change comes when we receive life with thanks and ask for nothing to change.”

I woke up Thanksgiving morning and was challenged to thank God for something that feels hard.

What?? A good Father wouldn’t give His child something hard, would He? If we’re in pain wouldn’t God want to come rescue us?! Rend Collective said it best with, “We don’t think He does want us to suffer, but perhaps sometimes He desires to be our joy”.

Thursday morning I thanked God for the hard. I thanked Him for bringing me to Cambodia and allowing me to spend Thanksgiving with my family in Christ. I thanked Him that my home is not a physical place, but my home is found in Him. I thanked Him for His grace that covers all my sin and makes me a new creation in Him.

And it was one of the best Thanksgivings yet!! So much joy, love, and peace that surpasses all understanding filled my day.

I challenge you to practice thanksgiving, not only one day of the year, but every single day. Thank God for the hard. Thank Him that our joy is not found in our circumstances, but in Christ alone.