Friends in Christ,
Did you know … that, according to a recent national poll, the three most popular holidays in our country are: Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, and Christmas? Approximately 91% of us observe them in some way, but when asked about observing Thanksgiving this year, 25% of us said, ‘No, no this year.” Their reasons for not observing the holiday vary widely – too expensive, too busy, poor health, unable to connect with family, other things to do.
(1) And, as you might expect, when the New York Times surveyed readers, the things for which people are most grateful are family, health, job, finances, faith, and basic needs. Late night host Jimmy Kimmel asked young children for what they are thankful and the answers were slightly different from adults: Maria, 5, is thankful for Oreo cookies. Colby, 3, said that he is thankful for his mom, his grandma, his turtle, and sometimes, his sister. Hailey, 8, is thankful that her mother finally allowed her to get a kitten. Evangeline, 8, said, best of all, that she is thankful for her grandfather who served in the Army a long time but died and is now in heaven. Good thoughts, all. Big things, small things, things that touch us.
(2) You would hope that our blessings would move us to be grateful for all that we have … but no so much. A man filing out a form at a desk at the post office was approached by an elderly gentleman who had a post card in his hand. The elderly man asked, “Sir, could you please address this post card for me?” The man was glad to help, and, when asked, he agreed to also write a short message on the post card, and he even signed it for the man, too. When finished, the helpful one asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you?” The old fellow thought for a minute, and he said, “Yes, at the end could you write, ‘P.S. Please excuse the sloppy handwriting.'”
Whether large things like loved ones and health, or small things like those who help with postcards, the point remains the same: we are blessed and want to be grateful to God for all that we have.
(3) Sadly, as illustrated in the account of the ten lepers – all with profound needs, all healed miraculously to be able to return home to family – not all always take time to remember and give thanks for the good things we enjoy. Look at it from this perspective. Why did only one cleansed leper return to thank Jesus? Writer Charles Brown has listed several possible reasons that nine did not return to express their gratitude to Jesus:
One waited to see if the cure was real.
One waited to see if it would last.
One said he would see Jesus later.
One decided that he had never had leprosy.
One said he would have gotten well anyway.
One said, "Anyone could have done it."
One said, "I was already on the road to recovery."
Some of those thoughts are similar to our own. Life in a sinful, broken world tempts us to turn away – to look away – from God and His grace, to look at ourselves, what we can do for ourselves, what our money will buy us. Focusing on what we do not have at the expense of remembering the many blessings that we do have.
They all leave us alone in a spiritual wilderness, sinfully sick and without healing.
It ought not be that way. In fact, it need not be that way. King David in Psalm 103 reminds us of God’s goodness in a clear, positive, helpful way. He wrote:
Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits -
3 who forgives all your sins, and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Yes, we have received those gifts and many more and we want to remember and rejoice in God’s goodness. Let me share with you how one person does that: Otha Anders, of Ruston, Louisiana, spent 45 years bending down and collecting something most of us ignore – pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters that have fallen on the ground, sidewalks, parking lots. Last fall, the 73-year-old Anders, a supervisor for in-school suspended children, took his change to his local bank - 15 five-gallon jugs - and deposited $5,136.14 into his account. The bank's coin machines took five hours to count it. // But the best of the story isn't Anders' thriftiness; it's his thankfulness. Each coin on the ground served to prompt him to give thanks to God. As Anders told reporters: “I became convinced that spotting a lost or dropped coin was an additional God-given incentive to remind me to always be thankful. There have been days where I failed to pray and more often than not, a lost or dropped coin would show up to remind me.”
What a simple way to remember!
Tonight I hope that you take time before falling asleep to remember and rejoice – like the one leper did. Like him, we are blessed because God is good. Be sure to thank Him.
Amen.
