What Thanksgiving Means to Me.

For me, Thanksgiving has taken on a whole new meaning since Thanksgiving 2012. It was on that day that our family experienced what we now refer to as our “Turkey Day Revival”. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. It was one of the best days and one of the most difficult days at the same time. On that Thanksgiving Day in 2012, my husband confessed some things to me that made me no longer want to be married to him.  I felt hurt, sad and angry. In fact, I asked him to get a plane ticket and leave. He said he understood and that he would leave if I wanted him to leave. I remember he prayed and cried out to God for help a lot that day. He told me he believed God was healing him and that God would heal me too. Even though it was a tough day, I felt peace. I decided to give him another chance and take it one day at a time. So a few days turned to weeks...months...and it has now been two years since our “Turkey Day Revival.” 

God changed our hearts that day. He healed the hurt in my heart, helped me to forgive, and gave us some of the best years in our marriage these past two years.  He also freed my husband from an addiction to pornography. And since then my husband has had the opportunity to mentor other men online who struggled with the same issues.  (On a side note, this is one reason I don’t offer boudoir photography magazine templates in my shop. I want to try and be sensitive to those that might be struggling with similar issues as my husband did.)

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast."  When I think of Thanksgiving, I think of God’s amazing grace and healing power. I'm reminded that there's nothing I can do to earn God's grace and that we can never go too far or "out sin" God's grace.  My prayer for you this Thanksgiving  --- "May grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord." 

Happy Thanksgiving!