Gratitude
Let us come before him with
thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
For the LORD is the great God, the
great King above all gods. – Psalm 95:2-3
What are you grateful for? Do you ever stop and think
about it? Oh, I know. We’re supposed to count our blessings every day, but do
you? Really?
It’s easy to focus on the big things. Family. Friends.
Home. Job. Health. Those are all important. Sometimes they are even things we
take for granted until we don’t have them anymore.
But what about the smaller things? In our country, we
assume clean, running water and indoor plumbing. Until we don’t have it. Then
we’re scrambling and whining. But here’s the thing: some people do without
those luxuries every single day. Do you ever thank God for the water you use
every day?
Do you thank Him for the food you eat? I’m not talking
about a standard prayer before your meal. I’m talking about giving real thanks,
the kind of thanks that comes when we realize how blessed we are to have food.
For most of us, when we are hungry we simply go into
the kitchen and get something to eat. That’s not true for everyone. You might
not always recognize those who don’t have enough to eat. Sometimes they’re the people
who live down the street. Their children play with your children. You know they
work. You assume they have enough food. Yet, many don’t.
What about medical care? Are you grateful that you can
go to the doctor when you need to? Are you grateful that you and your insurance
can afford whatever medications you need? We are blessed to have access to such
wonderful medical care. Not everyone does.
We assume that everyone has insurance. Do they? Can
they afford to use it? High co-pays and deductibles make medical care
unreachable for some people. Medicine is an unaffordable luxury. It’s not about
need or desire. It’s about reality. If you can afford medical care and
medicine, you are blessed.
There was a photo of a beautiful little girl on the
front page of the local newspaper today. She’s sitting in a wheelchair. A big
bow highlights where her hair should be. You know what’s coming, don’t you?
This little girl is fighting for her life. She wanted to be on the sidelines of
the high school football game with her cheerleading class friends and her
parents and others made that happen.
Don’t ever take your health for granted. Don’t take
the health of those you love for granted. It can be gone in a flash. You could
easily be the one living the unthinkable.
Gratitude does more than just change our attitude. It
fuels our compassion for others. It helps us realize how blessed we are and how
much we have to give back to God by loving others.
The next time you’re tempted to whine about what you
don’t have or how busy you are or how much you dislike your job or a co-worker,
stop. Consider your blessings. Thank God for your health, your job and the
lessons He’s teaching you by sending a challenging person into your life.
Be grateful. Praise God. Feel peace.
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