notesbynora

A Thanksgiving Devotional

Thanksgiving has a way of stirring the heart. It brings a softness… a remembering… a sacred pause to look back over the journey that has shaped us.

Because the truth is, we are a compilation of every memory we carry —
the good ones that make us smile,
the painful ones that make us stronger,
the people who celebrated us,
and the people who broke us.

We are made, not from one moment, but from all of them.

Every person we have loved…
every person we have lost…
every season that held joy…
and every chapter that held tears…
God has woven them together into the story of who we are today.

But how do we turn our losses — the missing chairs at the table, the relationships that shifted, the memories that ache — into thankfulness?

It starts with acceptance. Not the kind that pretends nothing hurt. But the kind that acknowledges the truth quietly before God:

“Lord, thank You for the time we had together… and thank You for carrying me through the time apart.”

Gratitude grows when we realize that even the people we lost were gifts. Even the seasons that broke us taught us something eternal. And even the moments that hurt still held pieces of grace inside them.

We can look back and say:

• Thank You, God, that I was loved — even if the season ended.
  
• Thank You for the memories — even if they came with tears.
  
• Thank You for the joy — even if it didn’t last forever.
  
• Thank You for the lessons — even when they were hard.
  
• Thank You for carrying me — always.
  

Thanksgiving isn’t about ignoring the pain. It’s about remembering the goodness of God in every chapter, even the ones we wouldn’t have chosen.

We can be thankful for the laughter that once filled our homes. Grateful for the people who shaped our hearts — whether they stayed or only walked with us for a while. Grateful for the love we got to experience. Thankful that God held us through the disappointments. Grateful that He never wastes a tear, a moment, or a memory.

The beauty of gratitude is this:

It turns what we lost into something we got to have. It turns what hurt into something God healed. It turns what ended into something God is still using.

Every chapter…
every person…
every joy…
every heartbreak…
is part of the story God is writing — a story still filled with hope.

This Thanksgiving, may we pause and honor our journey with tenderness. Not rushing past the grief, not denying the ache, but allowing gratitude to rise gently:

“Thank You, Lord, for every memory that made me who I am…
and for every piece of Your grace that brought me this far.”

Because even the hardest stories have threads of God’s goodness woven inside them. Even the painful moments have purpose. And even the losses can become places of deep, quiet thanksgiving —
for the love we knew…
the lessons we gained…
and the God who carried us through it all.

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Prayer

Father, thank You for my story — the joy, the pain, the people, the seasons, and the memories that shaped me. Help me see Your goodness in every chapter. Turn my losses into gratitude, my heartache into wisdom, and my memories into reminders of how faithfully You have carried me. Amen.