Happy Thanksgiving!
Jack: I heard a story about a seven-year-old boy by the name of Steve Walla who lived in Missoula, Missouri. One day in elementary school, his teacher asked the class to write a paper on what they were thankful. Steve wrote, “I am so thankful for Thanksgiving this year. We get to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, and Grandma makes homemade cherry pie. And I love to eat Grandma's cooking, and Grandpa drives a truck. And he also drives a bus and he drives some of the kids to school.
“And I just love being around Grandma and Grandpa, and I am so thankful that God has given me so many things to be thankful for. Three years ago, I got hit by a car, and I have been blind ever since, but I'm thankful to God for all of the blessings he's given me.”
The note was written in braille. Rather than complaining, we should look at God’s blessings.
Gratitude brings peace and happiness. When we focus on Jesus and what he's done, it's hard to be anything but grateful.
We need to be thankful in every moment, not taking anything for granted. It’s saying “thank you” to the clerk at the store. It's being patient when you're waiting in the line at the pharmacy and there are not enough people to do the job and you need to get your medicine.
It's being understanding and thankful, without expectation.
John: So much is driven by our attitude. In my first year of practice, I took care of this dear old man who had an exhausting list of problems. I mean, this poor fellow was so arthritic he could barely stand. He could barely walk. When he did walk, it was very slow and deliberate, and he had to use a cane.
He typically would have his other hand on somebody else because he was also legally blind. He had congestive heart failure. And the list goes on.
I was admitting him to the hospital for heart failure. As I'm doing his admission physical, I discover a mass in his belly. He had colon cancer. The surgeon said it was the largest tumor he had ever seen. I saw him the day after his surgery. He's lying in his bed, staring. He didn't know it was me until I spoke. “How are you doing?” His face beamed with the biggest smile. And I remember feeling so caught off guard. He's just had a big chunk of his colon taken out and he's got a big smile on his face. I said, “Well, you sure look happy this morning.”
“I didn't have to have a bag.”
He was grateful he didn’t have a colostomy bag. He latched onto the good. It wasn't because he was making a big effort. He had the gift of gratitude. Attitude is everything.
This Thanksgiving and every day, let’s be thankful for all that God has given us.
Jack: I remember my son, one Thanksgiving, when he was a young boy and we had him praying the prayer for the Thanksgiving meal and he was praying, “Lord, thank you for the turkey and thank you for the dressing and thank you for the gravy and thank you for the pickles and thank you for the olives.” And I looked up at him and he had one eye open and he was going around the table and he was thanking God for everything that he saw.
And I thought, maybe that's what we need to do. We need to pray with one eye open. We need to be thankful with one eye open, making sure that we're seeing all of the things that God has placed on our table.
What blessings we have! So, don't come complaining. Don't come begging. Don't come anxious or worried. You come before God with Thanksgiving and praise in y
Huge thanks to Mike Bridgewater our engineer, JD Miller our musical wizard, and Mt Gilead Church our home to record.
Thank YOU for listening. We pray our efforts help you focus on Jesus the author, editor, and publisher of everything worth believing in.
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