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No matter what happens, always
be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
(1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT).
Today is Thanksgiving Day in America. There is a legend
about two angels who were sent to earth to gather up the prayers of men.
One was to fill his basket with the petitions of mankind. The other was to
gather their prayers of thanksgiving. Sometime later they went back to the
Father's house. One had a basket heaped high and running over with the
innumerable petitions of men. The other returned with a heavy heart, for
his thanksgiving basket was almost empty.
Unfortunately, when praying, many of us are like
kids who write to Santa Claus. Some years ago it was reported in the
Chicago Daily News how a postal employee opened and read the mail,
which came to, the Dead Letter Office in Washington addressed to Santa
Claus. In the three months before Christmas, there were thousands of
letters asking for something. In the months after Christmas, there was
only one card addressed to Santa Claus thanking him. How quick we are to
ask and receive. How slow we are to speak the magic word—thanks.
At the same time, I realize that it can be very difficult to be thankful
when things go bad and life becomes an uphill battle. However, as the
Scriptures remind us, we need to find a way to be thankful in our
situation, not necessarily for it. Trials, difficulties and
disappointments make some people bitter and disgruntled. Others see them
as an opportunity to take stock of their life and as an opportunity to
grow. As the old saying goes, trials can make us bitter or they can make
us better. The choice is ours. May we all on this day give thanks to God,
as does the poet in the following:
For every
hill I've had to climb,
For every stone that bruised my feet,
For all the blood and sweat and grime,
For blinding storms and burning heat
My heart sings but a grateful song –
These were the things that made me strong!
For all the heartaches and the tears,
For all the anguish and the pain,
For gloomy days and fruitless years,
And for the hopes that lived in vain,
I do give thanks, for now I know
These were the things that helped me grow!
'Tis not the softer things of life
Which stimulate man's will to strive;
But bleak adversity and strife
Do most to keep man's will alive,
O'er rose-strewn paths the weaklings creep,
But brave hearts dare to climb the steep.
-
Anonymous
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