It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening, accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, a harp, and the melody of a lyre. You thrill me, LORD, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done. O LORD, what great works you do! And how deep are your thoughts. (Psalm 92:1-5)
Have you ever taken a minute and thought about how easy it is to get caught up in the tough stuff of life? Our lives can often get preoccupied with things we can do very little about. The Holiday season serves as an example of this as we may struggle with how our family gatherings used to consist of crowded dinner tables, family and friends getting caught up in the events of each other’s lives, and the call from the kitchen that echoed, “Dessert time.” As our long-awaited thanksgiving meal ended, we often reminisced how we should make more effort for family and friends. Yet, as it goes, our lives get busy, and as the years pass away, many of those people are no longer at the dinner table.
The words “Thank and Think” originate from the same root, reminding us that thanksgiving comes from thinking about our blessings. Helen Keller once said, “I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during their early adult life. It would make them more appreciative of sight and the joys of sound.”
Senator Richard Neuberger once said the experience of contracting cancer changed him. “A change came over me, which I believe is irreversible. Questions of prestige, political success, and financial status became unimportant. In their stead has come a new appreciation of things I once took for granted- eating lunch with a friend, scratching Muffet’s ears and listening for his purr, the company of my wife, reading a book or magazine in the quiet cone of my bed lamp at night, raiding the refrigerator for a glass of orange juice or a slice of coffee cake. For the first time, I think I am actually savoring life. I shudder when I remember all the occasions, I spoiled for myself-even when I was in the best of health- by false pride, synthetic values, and fancied slights.”
Ms. Keller and Senator Neuberger appeared to echo the words of Psalms 92 as they were conveying how we can miss out on the most straightforward yet essential blessings in our lives. This blessing can be seen only if we focus on it, as we tend to see differently than God. This blessing consists of the little things we can be so thankful for. The breath of fresh air we take every morning. The joys we experience throughout the day. Thinking about these simple things has this uncanny way of changing us. Changing us from thoughts of what we do not have to thoughts of what we should be grateful for. Ms. Keller was thankful for those memories when she could see and hear, albeit that short two years of her life. Senator Neuberger reflected on the simple things of life that brought him much joy as he faced the fragility of life.
As we gather around the dinner table this Thanksgiving, we may all reflect on the simple things in our lives. As we look around the room at the people we are with, may we reflect on the blessings of their presence. As we look around the room, may we reflect on God’s provisions- that wonderful Holiday meal, the place to gather in, and the necessities to make the gathering all occur. Take that time this Thanksgiving to reflect that “thanks” in your thinking. Intentionally extend that “thinking” throughout this season of thanks. And do not forget to extend “thanks” to the one who provides and facilitates life- Our God.
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