The Tuesday before Thanksgiving is often a strange kind of busy. Preparation has been in full swing for a while, but suddenly the big day is too close for comfort. The grocery lists get longer, with last-minute additions or overlooked necessities. The calendar gets tighter. The “I-still-need-to…” thoughts multiply at an impressive rate. Every year we tell ourselves we’ll be more prepared—and every year Tuesday still feels like a race against time.
In the midst of frenzy and chaos, the psalmist offers a gentle, necessary interruption: “Don’t forget.”
It’s an odd command, really, but David knows how our minds work. We don’t forget God’s blessings intentionally; we forget because we get distracted. Our minds fill with the urgent, real or imagined, and the important quietly slips to the side.
That’s why this Tuesday matters. Before the table is set, before the guests arrive, before we leave our homes to go elsewhere for the big day, before we go into a full panic about all that’s left to be done, we are invited to remember. Remember why we’re doing all this … because of God’s blessings. And not to remember our blessings in some vague, sentimental way, but specifically. Deliberately.
“Don’t forget … all God’s blessings.”
The big things and the small things. Families and friends. A warm house. Plenty of food. The conversation that encouraged you. The strength for a day you thought would defeat you. The small joys that God wove into ordinary moments.
We spend so much energy making sure we haven’t forgotten anything—pumpkin pie, cranberries, napkins, a thawed turkey, the favorite food for every kid or cousin (even the one with food allergies). But Psalm 103 nudges us toward a deeper memory: the God who has never forgotten us.
So today, in the middle of prep work and planning, let gratitude begin: not because everything is finished, but because God’s faithfulness already is. May this Tuesday be a calm before the storm, and a day of remembering. And may your thanksgiving begin long before the feast.
God makes everything come out right … God’s love is ever and always, eternally present … Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are—everything and everyone made by God. And you, O my soul, bless God! (Psalm 103:6,18,21-22).
Prayer: Gracious God, in the midst of lists and preparations, help me remember your kindness woven through every moment. Open my eyes to your blessings, especially those I have overlooked. Teach my heart to give thanks not only for the blessings I can name, but for the steady faithfulness that carries me even when I am unaware. Center me in your peace. Amen.
