Thankfulness

Published 7:53 am Friday, October 20, 2023

I know we usually focus on thankfulness in the month of November, preparing for the wonderful family celebrations at the end of the month. Some churches and ministries serve a community meal. I have been a part of one here in our community that has gone on for many years, blessing thousands of local residents as well as guests and other people who find themselves here on Thanksgiving Day. I wish we demonstrated that kind of love, care, and concern the other 364 days of the year! It is an exceptional day for showing others love and concern but I would love to see this concern demonstrated all year long!

As I began to ponder what I would like to share about this week, thankfulness came to mind immediately. Having been in a very vulnerable state for a few weeks (hospital/surgery), I found myself realizing just how thankful I am for family, friends, the medical community as well as all the natural things we might take for granted. Needing others to prepare meals and help me do things I normally do myself made me very thankful. I could not even get out of many chairs by myself for a while. I slept and pretty much stayed in my electric recliner all the time up until this past week. I was never so thankful to get back into my own bed knowing that I could actually get out of it on my own and would rest so much better than the wonderful recliner I had been using. Little things like finally getting to take a shower on my own brought another wave of gratefulness. People brought me some delicious, nutritious meals as soon as I came home. A friend from Texas stayed with me three days longer than originally planned and served me as I began to regain my strength and independence. My heart is so full of thankfulness when I stop to reflect on the great love my Heavenly Father has for me.

However, this is only part of the picture. There are so many today that are suffering beyond what most of us can think or imagine due to their particular set of circumstances. Life seems to have turned totally against them and nothing they do seems to change circumstances for the better. Can we give thanks even in those kinds of circumstances? What does it really mean, “in everything give thanks for this is the will of God…”? Can we give thanks to God no matter what is going on, no matter how much or how little we really understand this circumstance? I don’t think it is about being thankful for the actual set of negative circumstances but having a heart that is grateful, in spite of those circumstances.

One of the things I have observed about Thankfulness is that it will open up a place in the presence of God. “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise…” One of the easiest ways into the presence of the Lord is by vocalizing to Him a thankful heart. I have written on this numerous times but it is a subject I don’t think can or should be ignored or neglected. It should be a daily part of our lives –reflecting with a thankful heart.

If you go to the internet on any subject, there is usually more information than you can possibly consume in a few hours of time. Gratefulness or thankfulness is no exception and the quotes come from many different sources. I am going to quote a few! “When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.” – Tony Robbins. “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.” “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others.” – Cicero “Gratitude, like faith, is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it grows, and the more power you have to use it on your behalf. If you do not practice gratefulness, its benefaction will go unnoticed and your capacity to draw on its gifts will be diminished. To be grateful is to find blessings in everything. This is the most powerful attitude to adopt, for there are blessings in everything.” – Alan Cohen “The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.” — Mary Davis “We can choose to be grateful no matter what.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and it turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It can turn any meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” – Melody Beattie

There are many more quotes but these few, some written by familiar names and others by those less known, all have the ability to cause us to ponder the value of a thankful heart. One last quote: “Develop an attitude of gratitude. Say thank you to everyone you meet for everything they do for you.” – Brian Tracy

Not only does thankfulness bring you into the Lord’s presence, but it creates an atmosphere wherever you are to bring a little bit of heaven to earth. It is difficult to have a bad attitude with a thankful heart! I love being around people who keep a positive outlook. What would our home or our workplace look like if this was a focus and a priority? How would it cause us to look at and treat one another?

I think it might be worth the effort to be one who carries that atmosphere of a grateful, thankful heart with them wherever they go. We can be ambassadors of thankfulness! Every country has ambassadors that represent their country with their culture and lifestyle. Let’s be ambassadors for the Kingdom of God by carrying a little piece of heaven on earth – a thankful, grateful heart.