I love Christmas, but seriously, can we not be in such a
hurry to skip past the most important holiday of the year? Now, more than ever,
we need a time of Thanksgiving. A time to turn our focus away from the barrage
of the daily news of doom and gloom. A time to count our blessings.
I don’t know about you, but I am so tired of hearing about
how awful the past few years have been. Even the memes aren’t funny anymore. I’m just tired of
the negativity. In reality, it’s just another year on good old planet Earth
(which is not our true home!) So, let’s stop spending all our time thinking
about the bad news, and instead, start turning our thoughts to the more
positive things around us. I love the way Paul says it in the book of
Philippians - Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is
true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think
about such things. (4:8 NIV)
Several years ago, along the very same lines, I shared the
following message for Thanksgiving. Still sounds pretty relevant to me!
It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is here already! Or will be this week anyway. Such a
wonderful time of year! The cooler weather, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas,
New Year. Just a string of big events that come one after another in rapid
succession. No wonder people get so stressed.
So, how do we deal with all this extra anxiety? I suggest we
try and focus on the positives in our lives and not the negative. In 1
Thessalonians 5:18a (NIV), Paul says “give thanks in all circumstances.”
What a great statement! Like most people, there are times when I find it easy
to be thankful. But like most people, there are also many times when I find it
extremely difficult to be thankful. Or to be more honest, I forget to be
thankful.
Thanksgiving is a good time to be conscious and
conscientious about recognizing our blessings. (A little off the subject, but
as much as I love contemporary Christian music, I often long for the old hymns
like Count
Your Blessings.) This month alone, I could easily rattle off a list of
my trials and troubles, some of those circumstances
that make me want to scream and complain. And when I get bogged down in
worrying about my problems, I do
forget to be thankful.
So, let me focus on the good and not the bad for now. I am
thankful for family and friends. I am thankful for my health. I am thankful for
a long and somewhat successful career. I am thankful to live in a free country.
And I am thankful for a God who watches over me and mine.
I won’t bore you with a long list of family and friends, but
I will say that I am truly thankful most for the people in my life. Many of
them have passed, but I still treasure their memories and value the lessons
they imparted and the legacies they left behind. I am thankful for my wife and
children and I pray that I can always be a good husband and father. For the
many friends, former colleagues, and others, I have probably not said enough
how much I appreciate the love and support and encouragement! If you want to
reduce your stress over the next few months, enjoy the people around you. Time
invested in people is rarely wasted.
I’ll be honest and say that I wish I had the body of my
twenty-year-old self! Lord knows I don’t want to be twenty again, but I often miss the energy and vitality of that
age. Nevertheless, I am thankful for the generally good health I enjoy. I often
jokingly say that I wish I had taken better care of myself when I was younger,
but honestly, many people my age are much less fortunate when it comes to
health issues. I’m no spring chicken, but I’ll gladly accept the aches and
pains that come with my age. And I will do my best to stay in shape in the
years ahead.
One of the joys of Facebook (there are some to go along with all the frustrations!) is the ability to
connect with former students! I am thankful for the years spent with young
students and athletes whom I will never forget. I thank God for allowing me to
be a teacher, coach and principal and I pray that my impact on the lives of my
students was positive. There are few pleasures in life greater than watching
your kids grow up and become successful, even if they aren’t really your kids! I am so incredibly
proud of the fine adults you have become, even though you will forever be teens
in my mind! If not younger!
If you are a frequent reader, you know I have fairly strong
political views. Despite the recent election ugliness, and the ongoing
negativity of the mainstream media, I am proud of my country and thankful to
live in a free society. Obviously, we live in an imperfect world, but when you
consider the living conditions in much of the world, we should be thankful to
live in the USA. I am.
Finally, and most importantly, I thank God for all the many
blessings in my life. Everything above I credit to a good God who loves His
people and watches over us. I am thankful for a Heavenly Father who not only
promises an eternity with Him, but also provides for us while we await that
final blessing!
So, whatever your circumstances today, count your many blessings and give thanks!
