EVERY DAY IS A THANKSGIVING DAY

We thank and praise You, Lord, each day for all You’ve given and done for us. May we never forget Your bountiful love and mercies.

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES       by Sally Bair

Grateful hearts

With Thanksgiving Day looming, many of us think about the big football game on TV or hunting for that big buck in the woods. Either way, we usually follow our fun with a sumptuous meal with family. We must not forget, however, that the day has been set aside to remember our country's spiritual roots. The first European emigrants, pilgrims who had fled persecution for their Christian faith, suffered much during their first winter at Plymouth Colony. Most of them died of starvation or disease and those who survived suffered from the extreme cold and from hunger. By the next fall they had recovered somewhat, but not fully. They still faced many dangers, hunger, disease and the uncertainty of the coming winter's provisions. Yet they set aside a time to give thanks to God for the little they had.

The story about the pilgrims reminds me of the people in Mexico I encountered while on a mission trip. Ministering to the poorest of the poor, our group offered the people small gifts, such as socks, pencils, coloring books, toothpaste and shampoo. To the children we gave small toys. Many had never received a gift before.

These people lived in shacks made of dismantled wooden pallets or cardboard, and patched pieces of tin. They pulled hand carts to get their daily water supply. They had no indoor plumbing, no medical care or insurance, no schools nearby. Most of the children could neither read nor write.

When we gave them their small gifts, you'd have thought they'd been handed a million dollars. Their whole bodies exploded with joy and gratitude.

That's what God wants of us, too—to explode with thanksgiving and gratitude for all He's given us, no matter what our life circumstances are. We have a loving, merciful God. We live in a country free of the restraints that many other countries face, rich in the bounty that makes our lives comfortable, and beautiful to behold. How can we not be thankful?

As the pilgrims sat outside around their crude tables laden with simple fare, they might have recited Colossians 3:16. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." While we sit around our own tables in our warm houses and view the abundant food before us, may we too express heartfelt gratitude to God, our provider.

Lord, we give You thanks, not just today but every day, for Your goodness and love. Give us the will and desire and remembrance to always be thankful. In Jesus’ name, amen.