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Day 172 – 3 Trails of Gratitude
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 172 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.
3 Trails of Gratitude
Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 172 of our Trek. Yesterday we asked the question, “Are you affecting or infecting others that you impact?” Starting today and for the next week, we will hike on the trails of gratitude and thanksgiving through a series of inspirational stories for our trek of life. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.
We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. While I enjoy all seasons of the year, fall seems to be extra special for me. It may be from growing up on an apple orchard when we would pick apples and make fresh apple cider and apple butter in the huge copper pot over an open fire. It may also be that the crisp fall air carries with it a fresh relief after the hot and humid days of summer.
Growing up in a family of 10 children with loving parents, for me fall also meant a huge Thanksgiving feast and then on to Christmas. Both holidays hold a very special meaning for me. As we trek through life, let us always be thankful for the bountiful blessings that we have. Let us also remember the birth of Christ who provides us with a rich and satisfying life on earth and eternal life.
Even if you do not live in the United States, where we celebrate Thanksgiving in November, take this time to share in our celebration of thanks and gratitude.
Let’s hike three trails of gratitude today, which we will title…
Gratitude Stories
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the following gratitude stories might be helpful to you. They all fall under the theme of 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." Of course, this verse doesn't mean that everything that happens to us is God's will. It's not God's will that we lose our jobs or get a diagnosis of cancer, or that our children make poor choices. What this verse does say is that it's God's will for us to be thankful people in all circumstances, even in hard times — especially in hard times.
Consider these three trails.
1. Robinson Crusoe
When Robinson Crusoe was wrecked on his lonely island, he drew two columns and listed the good and bad of his situation. He was cast on a desolate island, but he was still alive. He was divided from humanity, but he was not starving. He had no clothes, but he was in a warm climate and didn't need them. He had no means of defense but saw no wild beasts which threatened him. He had no one to talk to, but the destroyed ship was near the shore and he could get out of it all the things necessary for his basic survival. He concluded, therefore, that no condition in the world was so miserable that one could not find something to be grateful for.
2. John Claypool, Part 1
When the late John Claypool lost his ten-year-old daughter to leukemia, gratitude was the only way he survived. He tells about that experience in his profound book, Tracks of a Fellow Struggler. After his daughter's death, John walked down three different paths. The first path was to say, "Well, it was just God's will. I have to accept it." But that was not helpful. He could not believe that God willed ten-year-old girls to die of leukemia. A second path was to try to find an intellectual answer as to why this happened. He tried to make sense of it. But that didn't work either. His daughter's death didn't make any sense. Finally, John walked the path of gratitude. He realized that life is a gift. We are not entitled to it.
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By H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III
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199199 ratings
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 172 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.
3 Trails of Gratitude
Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 172 of our Trek. Yesterday we asked the question, “Are you affecting or infecting others that you impact?” Starting today and for the next week, we will hike on the trails of gratitude and thanksgiving through a series of inspirational stories for our trek of life. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.
We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. While I enjoy all seasons of the year, fall seems to be extra special for me. It may be from growing up on an apple orchard when we would pick apples and make fresh apple cider and apple butter in the huge copper pot over an open fire. It may also be that the crisp fall air carries with it a fresh relief after the hot and humid days of summer.
Growing up in a family of 10 children with loving parents, for me fall also meant a huge Thanksgiving feast and then on to Christmas. Both holidays hold a very special meaning for me. As we trek through life, let us always be thankful for the bountiful blessings that we have. Let us also remember the birth of Christ who provides us with a rich and satisfying life on earth and eternal life.
Even if you do not live in the United States, where we celebrate Thanksgiving in November, take this time to share in our celebration of thanks and gratitude.
Let’s hike three trails of gratitude today, which we will title…
Gratitude Stories
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the following gratitude stories might be helpful to you. They all fall under the theme of 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." Of course, this verse doesn't mean that everything that happens to us is God's will. It's not God's will that we lose our jobs or get a diagnosis of cancer, or that our children make poor choices. What this verse does say is that it's God's will for us to be thankful people in all circumstances, even in hard times — especially in hard times.
Consider these three trails.
1. Robinson Crusoe
When Robinson Crusoe was wrecked on his lonely island, he drew two columns and listed the good and bad of his situation. He was cast on a desolate island, but he was still alive. He was divided from humanity, but he was not starving. He had no clothes, but he was in a warm climate and didn't need them. He had no means of defense but saw no wild beasts which threatened him. He had no one to talk to, but the destroyed ship was near the shore and he could get out of it all the things necessary for his basic survival. He concluded, therefore, that no condition in the world was so miserable that one could not find something to be grateful for.
2. John Claypool, Part 1
When the late John Claypool lost his ten-year-old daughter to leukemia, gratitude was the only way he survived. He tells about that experience in his profound book, Tracks of a Fellow Struggler. After his daughter's death, John walked down three different paths. The first path was to say, "Well, it was just God's will. I have to accept it." But that was not helpful. He could not believe that God willed ten-year-old girls to die of leukemia. A second path was to try to find an intellectual answer as to why this happened. He tried to make sense of it. But that didn't work either. His daughter's death didn't make any sense. Finally, John walked the path of gratitude. He realized that life is a gift. We are not entitled to it.