I will offer to Thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. Psalm 116:17

I confess, I just don’t wanna.

I don’t wanna go clean out that cooler so I can drop that frozen bird into a honey brine this morning.

I don’t wanna “practice” making a dairy-free, wheat-free, sugar–free, gluten-free pumpkin pie–again.

And I really don’t wanna trample out in the rain to our smoker every 30-45 minutes from 4 a.m. on Thursday until that temperamental turkey decides to pop his button. I. Just. Don’t. Wanna.

At first I felt rather guilty about this attitude. But, when I first told my husband, and he compassionately instructed me I would just have to “get through it” my guilt started melting. Then I told my mom (who despite all her difficult life has brought her has ALWAYS managed to cook a Thanksgiving meal), and she affirmed she felt the same. My feelings of guilt evaporated at this point. And, let’s not even mention how I felt when my husband mentioned he might go hunting Thanksgiving morning. Let’s just summarize by saying the whole Thanksgiving holiday had begun to feel like a huge sacrifice on my part, and I had no desire to comply with everyone else’s expectations. In fact, I began to feel like I was the turkey: As if to be a good wife and mother meant giving up my whole being as a continual sacrifice, so that everyone else could be full and satisfied.

Being the turkey. It’s not always easy to be the sacrifice. We have our own selfish wills to defeat. We have desires that conflict with our duties and responsibilities to others. We have attitudes that are not conducive to conforming to the will of God for our lives. In his letter to the Romans, the first world citizens of his time, Paul clearly instructed the believers, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that he present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your REASONABLE service” (12:1, emphasis mine). Not sure Paul was thinking of a turkey, but he definitely drew a word picture of a sacrifice on an altar. And that sacrifice is me.

Thankfully, God does not just dictate commands, but gives us instructions on how to follow His commands. Romans 12:2 instructs us, “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” In contrast to all the “do what feels good for you” mantra of this world, God wants us to change our minds to match His will for us. He wants to change our “don’t wanna” attitudes, and our “not feelin it” feelings. He wants to transform us to be willingly sacrificed for His glory, with an attitude of love toward those around us. Just like Jesus when He sacrificed His all on a cursed cross to buy salvation for the world: Total surrender to the will of His Father with a heart of love toward those crucifying Him.

So, Lord willing, I will be smoking that turkey and trying to make that pumpkin pie. And while I am at it, I am going to be thanking God for His goodness to me.

Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men. Psalm 107: 31