Count Your Many Blessings!

November 25, 2021

It’s not uncommon to compile wish lists at Christmas and draw up a list of resolutions for the New Year. However, there is another list we often overlook and that is a Thanksgiving list that includes all our blessings. I’m convinced that if we began to make a list, we would find that we have much more to be thankful for than just our material possessions. Like you, I’m sure, my list would include the major things life, health, family, friends, and the nation we live in, despite all its flaws. But even more than that, I’m thankful for my salvation, our church family, and the mercy that God showers upon us each day. With Jesus, we have so much to celebrate on Thanksgiving! Has it ever occurred to you that very few Americans have been more underprivileged than that small handful from the Mayflower who started the custom of setting aside a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God? They had no homes and no government agency to help them build homes. They had no means of transportation but their legs. Their only food came from the seas, rivers & the forests, and they had to go get it for themselves. They had no money and no place to spend it if they happened to have any. They had no amusements except what they made for themselves, no means of communication with their relatives in England, no Social Security, and no Medicare. Thanksgiving Day is a distinctive holiday. It doesn’t commemorate a battle or anyone’s birthday or anniversary. It is simply a day set aside to express our nation’s thanks to God. This week our nation will pause once again to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. And one would assume that because of the example of our forefathers, & because today we have so much, that we would be an extremely thankful people. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case. The Black Friday sales total will confirm that last sentence. However, I have a plan to fix this and it starts with me and you. What if we took the annual Thanksgiving holiday and turned it into a daily attitude? What if we lived our lives each day grateful for our blessings and loving our fellow humans? I can’t fix other people’s attitude, but I can fix mine and you can fix yours. Who knows, we might just start a new thing. Living life with an attitude of gratitude. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, eat some turkey, count your blessings and name them one by one!

Be blessed and be a blessing . . . Andy