As I count my blessings, they sum up God’s goodness
By: By CHRIS MENEES Messenger Staff Reporter
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.
— Psalm 100:4
Thanksgiving.
It’s not all about the turkey and the parades and the football.
Sometimes I wonder why we have to set aside just one day a year to show that we’re thankful when we truly have so much for which to be thankful all year long.
Personally, I fear I’ve gotten so caught up with all the trivial stuff of everyday life that I simple don’t stop long enough to think about my blessings.
They’re far too numerous to count, but I’d like to try anyway.
Yesterday I received one of those thought-provoking e-mails that’s been forwarded and forwarded and forwarded through cyberspace. This particular tidbit was a timely piece about thankfulness. I read it and then re-read it and couldn’t bring myself to delete the message just quite yet.
It wasn’t that it was so profound or even something that hadn’t been said before. I suppose it just came at a time when I needed to be reminded of some things that I take for granted.
It started me thinking about the little things that I do over and over again every day to the point that they just become routine.
It made me think about the people I see every day who become such a part of my life that I never stop to think how different my life would be without them.
Then I started thinking about how I sometimes grumble or complain about the most trivial things when there are truly far greater problems in the world.
I felt humbled and ashamed.
So I started making my own list of the things for which I’m thankful, even those that have caused me to mutter to myself from time to time ...
I’m thankful for a home that’s not always spotless and where we sometimes have to step around toys in the floor — because it means the grandchildren have chosen to brighten our day.
I’m thankful to come home each night and be asked, “What’s for supper?” — because it means I have someone to share it with.
I’m thankful for a refrigerator that needs to be cleaned out — because it means we’re not going hungry.
I’m thankful for a laundry basket that needs to be emptied and a washer that needs to be filled and a cluttered closet that needs to be organized — because it means we have clothes on our backs.
I’m thankful for a bed that needs to be made and showers that need to be cleaned and carpets that need to be vacuumed — because it means we have all the comforts and conveniences of home.
I’m thankful for a car that’s in dire need of a wash and wax and that needs its tank filled with $3-a-gallon gasoline to get from here to there — because it means I have transportation.
I’m thankful for a yard that’s currently cluttered with thousands of leaves in brilliant colors of yellow and orange and red — because it means we’ll have lots of shade next summer and plenty of places for the birds to perch as they favor us with song each morning.
I’m thankful to give up all control of the television remote and watch the latest he-man action adventure flick — because it means my husband has chosen to spend the evening at home with me rather than somewhere else.
I’m thankful when the phone rings in the middle of the day and my husband wants to know where to find something — because it means I’m needed.
I’m thankful when my husband calls in the middle of the day for no reason at all — because it means I’m loved.
For all these little things that seem so insignificant on their own but, when added together, seem like so much, I’m truly thankful to God.
And I realize I’m blessed every single day of the year.
Staff Reporter Chris Menees may be contacted by e-mail at cmenees@ucmessenger.com.
Published in The Messenger on 11.16.07
 Print
Chris Menees, Just A Thought, Thanksgiving
|
