Thank You

Thanksgiving Day 2016

My guess is that Thanksgiving Day brought you lots of food, football, family, friends -- and maybe a nap. At some point somebody probably posed the annual question -- "What are you thankful for?"

For many, finding a hundred things to be thankful for would be a piece of cake. Life just seems to be full to the brim with goodness. 

For others, it's a monumental task to come up with ANYthing that brings joy and thankfulness. 

Is thankfulness a matter of perspective? Is it a choice? No matter what our circumstances, should we be thankful for SOMEthing? I know an awful lot of people who have every right to be downtrodden and thankless. Personally I'm glad when they are not. 

I think about Job. Poor man. He had every right to curse God and die. He had nothing to live for. Even his wife was a bit of a pain. Yet he chose to keep his head up and to depend on the Lord. 

And what about David? His sins just about got the best of him. He had every reason to be thankless because of all the evil he had done. But God didn't give up on him. Some of the most beautiful passages of thanksgiving in the Bible were penned by David. 

As my Thanksgiving winds down, I can't help but think about the people in our community who don't have the ability to prepare their own celebration meal. I met three of them today. They were precious. And they were SO thankful to get such a wonderful meal on this special day. 

I am thankful for all the people who worked so hard to prepare food for the shut-ins of our community. 

I am thankful for all the businesses and individuals who donated food and supplies for this outreach. 

I am thankful for the hundreds of families who took the time to hand-deliver those meals. 

And I can only imagine the recipients singing the following chorus by Ray Boltz:

Thank you for giving to the Lord. 
I am a life that was changed. 
Thank you for giving to the Lord. 
I am so glad you gave.

God bless you all on this Thanksgiving Day. May you recognize your rich blessings.