All of us have our own method of collecting coins throughout the year to give at our Thankoffering service. We might put our change in a piggy bank or set aside some dollars to supplement our coin collecting. We might prefer to write a check.
I really like to use one of the Blessing Jars my sister-in-law and I made a few years ago from Mason jars. It has become a small yet important part of what I think of as my Blessing Ritual. My ritual doesn’t always happen on a daily basis. Yet it holds a lot of spiritual meaning to me when it is practiced. As I unscrew the jar lid and take various coins out of my purse, I think of the many positive things and even the challenges that transpired since my last deposit of blessings. I like to hear the slow clinking and clacking of the coins as they meet the other coins in the jar.
I know I don’t take enough time to give proper thanks for the blessings for which I have been rewarded. Whenever I look at my Blessing Jar, it is not nearly as full as it should be. I, then, am reminded that I need to show my thankfulness more often.
Even though a few coins (a handful or maybe two or three bits) go in at a time, their value constantly grows. Their value grows not only in terms of what they represent to me, but also by how many others will benefit from these blessings.
I used to think blessings were just good things and happy events. Yet, I learned they also may be the silver linings during hardships. We need to be thankful for it all.
When I take time to be more reflective, I listen to the clickety sounds of the coins and say words of special thanks….
*Thank you, Lord, for this day even though not everything went just right.
*Thank you, Jesus, for those times you simply have helped me make it through the day!
*Thank you, God, with all of my heart. I am grateful and blessed to have a home, a family, a fulfilling job.
*Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with a good church and church family.
*Thank you for helping me be a blessing to someone today. We both needed it!
*Thank you, Jesus, for the life that led me to you. Thank you for my faith in you, your love for me, and the hope that I have.
We should always count our blessings and be a blessing to others. Our hearts will become lighter and our burdens will be fewer. Plus, our Blessing jars will be overflowing!
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
With this, I pray a prayer of thanks for our blessings to the Lord, our God. Amen.
Written by Annalee Crotinger. This appeared in the December 2020 issue of Walking in the Word, the newsletter of the Central States Synodical Women’s Organization.
To create your own Thankoffering jar, click here for some ideas.