A Couple Thoughts on Thanksgiving…
By David Branker
One Thanksgiving season, a family was seated around the table, looking at the annual holiday bird. From the oldest to the youngest, they were to express their praise. When they came to the 5-year-old in the family, he began by looking at the turkey and expressing his thanks to the turkey, saying although he had not tasted it he knew it would be good. After that rather novel expression of thanksgiving, he began with a more predictable line of credits, thanking his mother for cooking the turkey and his father for buying the turkey. But then he went beyond that. He joined together a whole hidden multitude of benefactors, linking them with cause and effect.
He said, “I thank the checker at the grocery store who checked out the turkey. I thank the grocery store people who put it on the shelf. I thank the farmer who made it fat. I thank the man who made the feed. I thank those who brought the turkey to the store.”
Using his sharp little mind, he traced the turkey all the way from its origin to his plate. And then at the end he solemnly said, “Did I leave anybody out?”
His 2-year-older brother, embarrassed by all those proceedings, said, “God.”
Solemnly and without being flustered at all, the 5-year-old said, “I was about to get to him.”
The reason why we gather around the dinner table is so that amidst all the turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, collared greens, and arroz con pollo tomorrow, we are sure, not only to get to Him, but to put the Lord first, as our object of Thanksgiving.
Maybe it’s been a tough year for you. It has definitely been a tough year for me.
And yet, as I come to the table tomorrow, I will also know that it has also been one of the best years of my life – all because of God’s generous grace. This year, above all things, I am forever grateful for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Consider the following:
“Gratitude is from the same root word as “grace,” which signifies the free and boundless mercy of God. Thanksgiving is from the same root word as “think,” so that to think is to thank.” Willis P. King
So this year, let’s come to the table first thinking about God’s amazing grace…
- His unmerited favor
- His giving of what we could never earn or deserve
- His empowering of our feebleness
- And above all else, Him
And together declare, “O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” Psalm 107:1 KJV
David
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AMEN, AMEN…This is truly a “year of the Lord’s favor” as I make my way through the shadowlands. I just experienced more favor this morning, and never stop being amazed as God plows the road ahead of me, lighting it up, providing and providing still more, all the while holding me in his everlasting arms. My cup runs over!
This season I am committed to Thanks LIVING on a daily basis !
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” Cicero