I Am Thankful

It’s Thanksgiving.  Too often we all get too caught up in the excitement of visiting family and friends, eating, eating again, eating some more, putting away leftovers for eating later, and planning the battle strategy for the “Black Friday” sales at Walmart, the mall, or other retailers.  We too often forget the real meaning and intended function of the day.

For what am I thankful?  Let me list a few in no particular order:

• I am thankful that there is a God Who cares about me and has provided a way to eternal life that does not involve some convoluted process or a fine balance between good and bad works.  He has given me a gift – one that I do not deserve, cannot earn, and can claim by merely asking.  Then He is merciful to me, forgiving me for being human.  He listens to me whine, beg, and stomp my feet, and He answers in the way that is always best for me and that glorifies Himself through me.  He sends me blessings each moment, from the breath that I take to protection from enemies seen and unseen.  And He has placed within me a sound, quick mind and talents in music and speech for which I still cannot find enough uses.  I guess most of all I am thankful to Him.
• I am thankful for my heritage.  I come from a family that on both sides has a history of strong faith and practice.  I have been blessed with ancestors who loved God, and I now have a wife and children who love Him as well.
• I am thankful for a good, stable, secure job.  I am blessed with a father who is very intelligent and inventive, and he has parlayed his talents into a niche in the packaging industry that no one else fills.  He started the company 25 years ago with the intent of manufacturing the machines and providing his sons with good jobs.   With my knowledge and my involvement now I know that I can be employed for quite some time building and servicing these machines.  My job also allows me to spend time improving myself and learning more about different areas that can help me and help the business.  I am paid a very generous salary so I can support my family and help out my grown children.
• I have a good church where I can serve and worship.  God has given me the ability to stand before people and teach His Word, sing His praises, and lead others as they sing and worship Him.
• I have a good home.  It may not be everything that I would wish to have in a house, but it is functional and pleases my wife.
• Speaking of wife, I am VERY grateful that God sent me a lovely and talented woman to whom I have been married for over 30 years.  She has proven herself to be a great mother, a fantastic teacher, an incredible cook, and the love of my heart.
• I am thankful for my four children.  Are they perfect?  Of course not.  But looking around at other families I can see that our children are smart, sensible, and well-behaved.  I am proud of all of them.
• I am thankful for the country in which I live.  No other place on earth or in history has ever been like the United States of America.  Many (even some citizens!) look at our country as flawed, imperfect, and in need of drastic change to be “acceptable” among others.  But the motto “E Pluribus Unum” (”Out of many, one”) still applies, and there is still no nation like this one.

I could keep going, but it is time to go and be thankful elsewhere.

Take a moment today and thank God for everything.  Then thank someone close to you for what they are and what they do.

It is called “Thanksgiving” for a reason, you know.