Today wraps up a long Thanksgiving weekend with worship and praise. I hope everyone reading this had a wonderful holiday. My plans to go out to eat fell through, but thanks to my brothers and sisters in Christ, I had two great meals and many calls and texts checking on me with love. There is nothing like family to brighten a holiday. At a time when I could be alone without family members, God has provided so many blood relatives. It is not DNA that connects us but the shed blood of Jesus Christ. I spent most of Thanksgiving Day in prayer thanking God for putting those beautiful people in my life and for all of the other blessings I have enjoyed this year.
As Christians, we know that all good things come from our Father in heaven and we thank him for all of them. But it is also important that we continually thank those he has placed in our life to help us. Because of my parents’ example and training, appreciation and thanks are always on my lips; not because it is the polite thing to do, but because it is the right way to react when someone offers a helping hand. I learned long ago that appreciation in my heart that is not shared with those for whom I’m grateful is like having a gift for them and not giving it to them. My sincere thankfulness may encourage them, but it always lifts my spirit by reminding me how important they are in my life.
Sadly, there are a lot of people today who are not grateful for anything because they feel they are entitled to everything others do for them. It is the legacy of the “me generation” that became self-centered in their outlook on life. It isn’t until they encounter Jesus Christ that they begin to understand that because God loved us when we were unlovable; we are to love Him and all of those around us. Where love is present – gratitude will surely follow.