AND BE THANKFUL
I confess. I love Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday.
It’s not just about being together with family, having a sumptuous meal of turkey and dressing followed by pumpkin pie, or even overdosing on football. It’s about stopping to think how richly God has blessed me.
In fact, I believe Thanksgiving is more in keeping with the spirit of Christianity than any other holiday. Biblical passages abound about the importance of being thankful. Perhaps Paul said it most directly, “. . . and be thankful” (Col. 3:15).
Though rather common, ingratitude is an ugly sin. It is my observation that many people these days feel entitled. They always have their hands out. The want, they demand, they take, and they do not stop to express gratitude to God or to others who have blessed their lives.
It is surely a sad thing when we who are so richly blessed fail to express our gratitude by both what we say and what we do.
A long time ago, I read a very moving story about a grandmother who was severely afflicted with arteritis. She spent most of her time each day alone looking out her window. In writing to her sister, she said, “I don’t know what I would do if I could not look out my window and see the traffic going by. It is so interesting.”
Her family soon moved, and this time her room in the back of the house overlooked the park. Again, she wrote, “I like this better. The sweetest children in the world play before my eyes, and it makes me so happy to be able to watch them.”
Later, her family moved to the slums of the city. She had only a small window that allowed her to see just a bit of the sky over the top of the building next door. She wrote to her sister, “And when you come to see me, you can enjoy my beautiful view of the sky—God’s great big beautiful blue sky. The cloud formations are so interesting.”
The point? Much of life is a viewpoint. We see what we want to see. Some see the good, and others see only the bad. Some see their blessings, and others don’t. Some pause to give thanks, but many seem ungrateful.
So, let’s resolve to be thankful as we go forward on our journey, and may the following be our daily prayer.
“O God, may we, too, not forget The blessings Thou hast given, But like the Pilgrim band of old Lift up our eyes to heaven. ‘Mid all the chaos of the world Our hope is fixed on Thee. Thou art our refuge, our defense Though time . . . eternity!”
(Author unknown)
I confess. I love Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday.
It’s not just about being together with family, having a sumptuous meal of turkey and dressing followed by pumpkin pie, or even overdosing on football. It’s about stopping to think how richly God has blessed me.
In fact, I believe Thanksgiving is more in keeping with the spirit of Christianity than any other holiday. Biblical passages abound about the importance of being thankful. Perhaps Paul said it most directly, “. . . and be thankful” (Col. 3:15).
Though rather common, ingratitude is an ugly sin. It is my observation that many people these days feel entitled. They always have their hands out. The want, they demand, they take, and they do not stop to express gratitude to God or to others who have blessed their lives.
It is surely a sad thing when we who are so richly blessed fail to express our gratitude by both what we say and what we do.
A long time ago, I read a very moving story about a grandmother who was severely afflicted with arteritis. She spent most of her time each day alone looking out her window. In writing to her sister, she said, “I don’t know what I would do if I could not look out my window and see the traffic going by. It is so interesting.”
Her family soon moved, and this time her room in the back of the house overlooked the park. Again, she wrote, “I like this better. The sweetest children in the world play before my eyes, and it makes me so happy to be able to watch them.”
Later, her family moved to the slums of the city. She had only a small window that allowed her to see just a bit of the sky over the top of the building next door. She wrote to her sister, “And when you come to see me, you can enjoy my beautiful view of the sky—God’s great big beautiful blue sky. The cloud formations are so interesting.”
The point? Much of life is a viewpoint. We see what we want to see. Some see the good, and others see only the bad. Some see their blessings, and others don’t. Some pause to give thanks, but many seem ungrateful.
So, let’s resolve to be thankful as we go forward on our journey, and may the following be our daily prayer.
“O God, may we, too, not forget The blessings Thou hast given, But like the Pilgrim band of old Lift up our eyes to heaven. ‘Mid all the chaos of the world Our hope is fixed on Thee. Thou art our refuge, our defense Though time . . . eternity!”
(Author unknown)