Having just finished Thanksgiving as a holiday, let’s talk about relationships.
Family gatherings can bring out the best and the worst in us, all at the same event. In my prayer life, I pray for relationships and for a spirit of generosity to characterize my life and the lives of others.
Even more, I pray that Thanksgiving will not be just a holiday and dinner, but a lifestyle.
The Lord has taught me in November that gratitude is to be a daily thing. It is the antidote to bitterness and anger; it is crucial for healthy relationships, and it calms my soul and lets me walk in peace and joy.
Ten days ago, in my prayer time, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “Be grateful for the good Bill and George did in your life (not the real names of two people who had betrayed me over the years). I have been struggling for over 10 years to get past the heaviness of heart I had when I thought of these two people. So, I prayed prayers of thankfulness for the good that they had done for me prior to the bitter endings.
“Ah, I said, I’ve done it.” “Not so fast”, the Holy Spirit prompted me, “now I want you to call them and tell them exactly what you are thankful for about them.” It took me about 8 hours (really 13 years) to come to the place where I could pick up the phone and call them and thank them for the good they had done in my life. But when I did, two things happened. First, God gave me the strength and peace to pick up the phone and dial and talk with grace and genuine gratitude. Secondly, I hung up with a lightness of heart towards them that I had not had in over 13 years. In fact, in two weeks, I will have coffee with one of them.
I’m not saying it will happen like that with you, but we’ve all been hurt by others, spouses, family members, business partners, and church members. Some of you are carrying a heaviness of heart and bitterness for those hurts. I would ask you to consider whether giving thanks for the good that they did for you before the relationship broke up might not be a blessing to your life. Don’t follow my example; ask God what he wants you to do.
All I can say is that there is joy in gratitude and freedom in forgiveness.
About the autor
Marcus is a Convene Chair in Sacramento, CA, and has served Christian leaders for over forty years. Beginning in 1996, he led a rapidly growing non-profit church planting organization. Marcus led the organization from a small regional organization in 7 years to a national organization and ultimately to an international organization. This led to great experiences in managed growth, building scalable systems, and leading a decentralized company. In 2011, Marcus turned his attention to helping high-impact business leaders maximize their lives, businesses, and Kingdom impact.
He is committed to helping Christian business leaders find God’s call through their businesses. He now leads a Convene Team in the Sacramento area. Marcus’ passion is to help leaders multiply their effectiveness for Kingdom legacy impact and leverage their leadership. Marcus has been married to Jan for 45 years. They have three married daughters and seven grandchildren, all of whom love Jesus.