Thanksgiving Day in a New Place
Posted: Thursday, November 27, 2008
by Jean Purcell
OpineBooks.com
Have you recently moved into a new place? I cannot see or know what place it is.
Is it a rural town or large city to which you have just moved?
Is it a state or country far from the place you have called home for so long?
Is it a new interior place, a place of the heart's loss of or estrangement from another once held dear?
It is a prison, jail, or holding cell?
Is it a hospital or nursing home?
Is it a new working situation that excites or frightens you, a promotion or a cut-back?
Is it a new place of unemployment?
Is it a place of homelessness that you must share with many strangers?
There are many new places that can become our own, for a little while or for years into the future.
Is it a place of danger, a war zone or a place of newly-won peace?
I know not what your new place is like, or how to find it on a map. I know not why you are there, or who has sent you or led you into this new place, where you are this Thanksgiving Day.
But I know One who does, and perhaps you know Him too.
It may seem unbelievable, yet I assure you that it is true, and hope that you would do the same for me were I in a new place right now, a place uncomfortable and undesired. I hope you would remind me of God, His love and His authority over all people, places, and circumstances.
Hear these words, and let them comfort and guide you in your new place. Let them stay with you in your goings and comings, for sooner than you think a hard new place may change:
And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest" (Exodus 33:14).
What God spoke to His people then, He speaks to all who know Him now and to those yet to know Him, called to know they are His own.
Charles Spurgeon, the British preacher of long ago, knew much of joy and sorrow, change and God's faithfulness; he said of that verse in Exodus: "Precious promise! Lord, enable me to appropriate it as all my own."
May you, dear reader in a new place this Thanksgiving Day and all the days of newness ahead of you, also be enabled by God to make that promise of His presence and His rest your own.
"It often happens," wrote Spurgeon, "that when we feel most at home in a place, we are suddenly called away from it. Here is the antidote for this ill. The Lord Himself will keep us company. He presence, which includes His favor, His fellowship, His care, and His power, shall be ever with us in every one of our marchings. If we have God present with us, we have possession of Heaven and earth. Go with me, Lord, and then command me where thou wilt!"
Spurgeon continued, "His presence will cause us to rest even when we are on the march, yea, even in the midst of battle. Rest! Yes, there is the promise, and by faith we plead it. Rest comes from the Comforter, from the Prince of Peace, and from the glorious Father"!
Dear reader, be at ease in heart and mind in your new place this Thanksgiving Day. The Lord Himself is with you!
The Spurgeon quotes are from the reading for November 27 in Faith's Checkbook by Charles H. Spurgeon.
(c)2008 Jane Bullard
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)Jane, I am in a new place this Thanksgiving, physically and spiritually. God has reminded me over and over since the move of His promise to be with me always.
One 'new' neighbor has left me the keys to his big pickup truck for a weekend (in case I needed it) while he and his family went out of town/state. The other 'new' neighbors have dropped in to announce they were going to the market and asked if I needed anything. I gave them a list and gift card.
These new neighbors and I celebrated Thanksgiving together this past Sunday. We had a feast. I was only asked to bring the dinner rolls. It matters not that we're not the same race but love and serve the same God thereby loving each other. The neighbors next door pleaded with me to join them in Gatlinburg, TN this week. I've received two text messages saying, "We wish you had come with us. We're having fun."
So my darling Jane, the Lord has used you once again to speak to me. I do not miss my biological family nearly as much today because of being in a new place. You've written another soul-stirring message that is filled with His Holy presence for all of us in a new place. Realizing everyone's experience hasn't been as welcoming as mine, I pray for every newcomer. I pray the lost become new in the family of God and the found become filled with renewed hope.
Thank you my dear, friend. I am thankful for you!
Truthfully yours,
AvisDearest Avis,
Blessings in your new place on this Lord's Day. May you have much good in your new place!
Avis, a long time ago, one of the first batches of mail received at our present address was an account statement from a gas company. Inside also was a little plastic plaque about 3" by 5" with letters cut out. The words said: "Bless this house and all who enter." That little plaque still rests above our front door inside. It went to two apartments in Switzerland for ten years, where it rested over the front door of those places far from home.
I wish the blessings of my front door to you in your new place. May God bless your place and all who enter there. May your home be a refuge for all who enter, however short or long their stay, and may the peace of God rest upon them. May the peace of God be yours always in your new place!
What a wonderful beginning you have given and received! I hope readers will linger over your comments about your move and your first Thanksgiving there. No reader will be surprised that you inspire good neighbors and new friends!
I trust the Thanksgiving dinner was good in good new company? Did you drive the pickup truck? smile.
Thank you for every word you sent to me as you are in the busyness of a new place and a big holiday! Thank you for ministering to me the way you did, once again! I needed it. Words are inadequate to say the thank you in my heart.
God bless, Avis, and I thank you for being such a dear friend and a sister in Christ our Lord.
You wrote: "Realizing everyone's experience hasn't been as welcoming as mine, I pray for every newcomer. I pray the lost become new in the family of God and the found become filled with renewed hope." I join you in that prayer.
Thankfully yours,
JaneDear Jane,
I know you had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday because of who you are. You are a beautiful, dynamic, powerful woman and witness of God! I feel as if I've known you all my life. You know Who gets credit for that. We are a family of believers because of Him.
Yes! The Thanksgiving meal was scrumptious and the rolls were a favorite! *laughing* I bought them at the market. And yes, again! I drove that big pickup truck. Jane, I saw views on the horizon that I hadn't seen before traveling roads I'd traveled daily for years as I drove that truck. It sits much higher than my automobile. The neighbors laughed as I shared this with them.
Thank you for the prayer spoken over my new place. Blessings to you! I look forward to your next submission. Hopefully, you are resting on the Lord's day.
Warmest regards,
Avis
You wrote: The Lord Himself will keep us company. He presence, which includes His favor, His fellowship, His care, and His power, shall be ever with us in every one of our marchings. If we have God present with us, we have possession of Heaven and earth. Go with me, Lord, and then command me where thou wilt!"WOW! What can I say to that? In the hard times, and in the times of blessing, His presence is with us! I will ponder this when I feel "new" or when I feel "dry" and need to look beside me!I'm glad I stopped to check my email on this Thanksgiving Day; your article was worth it!! :-)In Him,KristenDearest Kristen,
Blessed Lord's Day to you this first Sunday after Thanksgiving! Thank you for taking the time in this busy holiday to send me your thoughts. Thanks be to God that those words quoted from Spurgeon have reached you, too! I was honored to turn to them as the Thanksgiving morning reading this year, and God moved me forward to write.
It is good to read your affirming words, and I pray the joy of the Lord with you in this holiday season and moving forward. May you always know His peace, love, and abiding presence.
Thank you for reading and commenting! Joyous ponderings!
In Christ our Lord,
Jane
hi jane,i don't know how i'd have ever made it through these 52 years if i didn't believe God was always with me, even as far back as getting yelled at by my dad, and crying alone in my room. my only solace was that i knew i was not really alone.thanks for a good article,best regards,sueDear Sue,
I am so full of thanks this Sunday morning. I am thankful for you and the SW community! Thanks for what you wrote. You said it, we are never alone when God is with us! I hope that all your prep for Thanksgiving Day went well. God's peace to you and yours! May He continually bless your home and all who enter there!
Thanks, Sue.
Jane
Dear Jane,Hi, it's me Anita. I met you at the Philly conference. The author of When God Speaks. It was nice to hear from you and read your article. This Thanksgiving we celebrated with my son in rehab. Now that's not a place you would think a parent would want to celebrate Thanksgiving, but I'm so thankful for the work God is doing in my son. Our daughters didn't want to go at first, but God worked it out that way. It was a blessing to meet some of the guys parents I've gotten to know in the program. I never thought as a Christian I would be in this place, and thankful for it too! It's a wonderful Christian program, but it's certainly not what I had in mind for my son when he went to go to school in the medical profession, yet God is working wonders through it. Yes, it's a different place for me and for these men...a place of brokenness and humility, and that's why God shows up each time. I'm thankful for a Christian place like this so close to our home.Anita EstesHi, Anita!
What a pleasure to hear from you! Thank you for what you shared about this Thanksgiving Day, and I thank God for the good that is now happening to help your son! I am so glad that there is a place near where you live. Let me know again how things are going whenever you have a minute.
I appreciate so much that you took the time to comment! Maybe our paths will cross again at a conference someday, but meanwhile e-mail helps.
Thank you, and God bless you and all your family!
In Christ,
Jane
Dear Jane,Hi, it's me Anita. I met you at the Philly conference. The author of When God Speaks. It was nice to hear from you and read your article. This Thanksgiving we celebrated with my son in rehab. Now that's not a place you would think a parent would want to celebrate Thanksgiving, but I'm so thankful for the work God is doing in my son. Our daughters didn't want to go at first, but God worked it out that way. It was a blessing to meet some of the guys parents I've gotten to know in the program. I never thought as a Christian I would be in this place, and thankful for it too! It's a wonderful Christian program, but it's certainly not what I had in mind for my son when he went to go to school in the medical profession, yet God is working wonders through it. Yes, it's a different place for me and for these men...a place of brokenness and humility, and that's why God shows up each time. I'm thankful for a Christian place like this so close to our home.Anita Estes
Hi Jane,
Thanks for another inspiring article. It’s really amazing that the Creator and Lord of the entire universe is interested in individuals. He says, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13: 5). And He means what He says.
Regards,
Joel
Hi, Joel,
It's always good to hear from you. I appreciate what you wrote! And your quote from Hebrews is very fitting here. I think getting into our hearts and heads that we are never alone when we are in Christ is one of the biggest steps. For me, it is the most comforting of all along with the assurance of its eternal meaning.
It is a reasonable hour where you are, I think, and very early in the U. S. Thanks so much for commenting!
God bless you, Joel, and keep you close. May you continue your study and writing to reach many people!
~Jane
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