Nothing to be thankful for

I'VE GOT NOTHING TO BE THANKFUL FOR

When thinking about our upcoming Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S., the old Bing Crosby song popped into my mind. I believe it was from the movie "Holiday Inn," which is a great old movie and I recommend highly! Anyway, Bing is sitting at a table full of all of the holiday trimmings and is really down and depressed because his girlfriend has left him for another man (and career). He sits there feeling sorry for himself and singing the song, "I've go nothing to be thankful for." Of course he is reminded that he does have other options and… well you'll have to watch the movie to see how it ends.

Sadly, this is not an unusual problem in our world; it may be even more prevalent in our present financial climate and job market. We have so many people in our world who have lost their jobs, lost their homes and who are struggling to just put food on the table or pay for fuel for heat. Then our advertising world floods or airways, newspapers and magazines with words and pictures which portray what should be the perfect holiday. Everyone should be well fed, in comfortable homes, surrounded by friends and family, be smiling, with no problems in their lives, a Norman Rockwell painting come to life.

We tend to look at that image and say, that's not my life. I'm barely scrapping by; I've got nothing to be thankful for!

It is my belief that it's not so much a matter of what you have, but how you count the blessings you do have. You may be having a tough time, but in almost every situation, if you will stop and look around you, you will find someone else who has more difficulties. I think that at some point, everyone should go and set in the emergency waiting room at a hospital in a major city. I've had occasions to do this on more than one occasion and it opens your eyes to what real tragedy and loss is.

I could give you a list of things for which you could be thankful, but I don't think I really need to do that. You are wise enough to understand those things yourself. The problem is that we don't stop and count our blessings nearly as often as we should. I would suggest that you stop and do that right now. I do want to share with you that for which I am most thankful. I am thankful for you! You are a blessing for my life as one of God's children and because of that I have everything to be thankful for! Relationships are the most important thing in the world. If I loose all that I have in the physical world I hope to hold you in my heart and be held by you.

Let me end this with the words of the Apostle Paul from Philippians 1:2-6, where he writes, "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (NIV)

The key phrase is, "I thank my God every time I remember you." Do you really have nothing to be thankful for?

Russ Lawson