Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day is three days away, and I’ll make this blog a short one.

Carol and I left my brother’s house in Carlinville, Illinois, around 9:00 AM. Paul is a retired US Army chaplain with the rank of colonel. Paul’s background is so full that it would take two books to tell you about him. But since I’m not writing about him just yet, you can look him up on his web site. Go to paullinzey.com.

We had a great time with Paul and are now on our way to Bloomington, Indiana, to visit a friend, Sunny Smith, who is a retired Marine. He has almost as many stories to tell about life in the military as Paul does. We’ll visit my sister and her husband, Sharon and Jim, also in Bloomington, then head up to Worthington, IN, to be with one of our boys, Jeremy, and his family.

It’s a great joy to visit and fellowship with friends and family. Of course, our family members are also friends, and we have a lot to be thankful for.

Several years ago, a missionary couple at church told us about a poor family overseas. With barely enough money to buy food, the poor family received a gift of $70. They were quite excited and grateful for the gift, but they knew another family who had no food at all. Following God’s leadership, they joyfully gave that $70 to the other family. Their generosity revealed not only a grateful spirit, but a deep, mature relationship with God.

God gives many kinds of blessings, many of which are material. Many people, even those who don’t know the Lord, are generally happy about what they have. But those who have a relationship with Him are doubly grateful because they have eternal life in heaven to look forward to, and they don’t wait for Thanksgiving Day to show it. Their gratefulness, their thankfulness, is not based on what they have, but what they are – adopted children of God. They are thankful for life. And when their human life is over, they will be with God forever and thank Him face-to-face.

It isn’t what we have or don’t have that makes us happy, and it isn’t whether or not we’ve experienced hardship in life that prompts us to be thankful. What engenders gratefulness is knowing the One Who offers us eternal life.

James 1:17 tells us that every good gift comes from God. It’s a great idea to express our gratitude to God every day and be generous to others.

Happy Thanksgiving.