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In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV)

One of the best ways to guard our hearts during our widow journey is to give thanks to God. Giving thanks forces us to acknowledge even what seems small on the surface in spite of what we’ve endured.

Picture the thankful heart of the widow in Luke 21. Christ valued her offering of two measly “widow’s mites” above the huge sums donated by the wealthy of that day because those two coins represented her beautiful heart. Understanding why a widow would donate all she had to live on begins with what this Thanksgiving Day means to someone who has had so much taken from her. And that someone is you and me.

Did you ever consider that when that widow placed those tiny coins on the altar, she knew it wasn’t all she had? Jesus said she “…put in all she had to live on” (Luke 21:4 ESV), but He didn’t say that was all she had. To give all she had to live on suggests this widow must have seen her abundance beyond worldly possessions. Perhaps you can think of ways you might be grateful in spite of your loss. Think through some things you have that no one can take away:

Your sweet memories of a husband who truly loved you.

Many go through life never experiencing such a love relationship. If you did, let the lingering memories of your husband’s love radiate around you, leaving you remembering how special you are.

Knowing you made a difference in and around his life

Perhaps you had a difficult husband, and you protected him and those around him from his own demons. What purpose you served!

The love in people all around you.

You don’t expect people to take care of you, and you are simply surprised and delighted each time someone reaches out to you.

When we give thanks this week, it’s tempting, in our circumstance of loss, to feel entitled. After all, for all those years we had that man in our lives. We grew used to having him. We naturally expected him there. Expected his constant support and love. That expectation has us feeling entitled.

Entitlement steals our joy and our gratitude. And in reverse, to feel joy, we must let go of our entitlement so that we can feel grateful for what we have.

When you think about your gratitude today, go beyond physical comforts of the world. A widow might be thankful for having a roof over her head, an education or a nest egg to survive on. But face it, many widows don’t even have those.

I think of a particular widow who submitted beautiful writings for this ministry. I saw her as a living example of this widow in Jesus’s commentary. The woman described that first couple of Thanksgivings without her husband. She was completely alone in her home with no visitors or calls.

And yet she was thankful.

She had Christ. Adonai.

Yes, she cried. But mixed with her tears was gratitude.

And she took that gratitude and shared it.

She connected with us. She began to write and minister—never to be alone again. And she connected with a long lost son. Led him to Christ. Brought him new life and brought a chuckle to her heart at the same time. The power in her gratitude changed her son’s life.

What are you thankful for?

Did the three reasons above strike some ideas for you? Read them again and meditate on the deep gratitude in your heart this week. Keeping those thoughts fresh will protect your heart from an enemy attack.

Lord, we know the enemy wants us to forget about all the things we should be thankful for. He wants us vulnerable to attack, so he reminds us constantly of what we lost. Can You remind us to be thankful so that we don’t let our guard down? Give us the real solution of guarding our hearts with thankfulness. Amen.