Being Thankful

 

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!