2020 has been a rugged year and some of us might be asking ourselves if we have anything to be thankful for? So, let’s pause a moment and check a few things out:
► Did you get the COVID virus this year? If not, be thankful!
► If you did get the virus, did you recover? If you did, be thankful!
► Did anyone you know and/or love get the virus? If they did and survived, be thankful!
► Do you have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a roof over your head? Then be thankful!
► Is your family relatively healthy? If so, be thankful!
► Did you notice the beauty of the Fall colors set off by the white snow? Then be thankful!
► Do you thank God every night for your family? If not, time to start!
► Is your family going to be together for Thanksgiving Day? If so, be thankful!
► Did someone close to you die this past year? If so, be thankful for Christ has been victorious over death and your loved one is safely in the arms of God!
► Did you read the paper this morning and not see your picture in the obituaries? If so, be thankful! King Lear said, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth, to have a thankless child!” Do you think God ever feels that way? How do you feel when you do something for someone, no matter how small or great, and no one thanks you?
When someone does something for you day in and day out without ever missing, it is easy to forget to thank them. Do you thank the person who brings home the paycheck, the person who makes your meals, washes your clothes, cleans your house, mows the lawn, shovels the snow, helps you with your homework, makes you laugh, and is there to give you a hug when things go wrong? If not, then you need to start.
St. Paul writes to the people at the church in Philippi, “I THANK my God every time I think of you.” Yes, 2020 has been a rugged year. Just for fun take a yellow pad and draw a vertical line down the middle. At the head of one column write “Curses” and in the other column write “Blessings.” Then write down all the “cursed” things that happened to you this year and all the “blessings" you received this year. I am confident that the “Blessings Column” will be much longer than the “Curses Column”.
When you hit your knees tonight, don’t forget to thank God for the “Blessings Column”!
Veritas, Curt