Thankful Heart

Today is the day!  It’s Monday but it is also Thanksgiving Day, at least here in Canada.  So, are you thankful? As little children we are from a very early age taught to say please and thank you. And to a child it is a way of getting things now and repeating the exercise later.  We think, because we are so smart, if we say it now there is a good chance that it will happen over and over again as we continue to say these wonderful words, in the future, we will get other things we want.

I have mentioned this before; please and thank you are not used as often in long term care facilities. I have found myself saying those words to staff because the residents have forgotten that when you say please and thank you, it will get better results in the future. I know some residents that tell me, 'the staff are so good to me'. That is when I ask if they use the magic words and with a smile they say ‘yes’ and I say, ‘you’re welcome’.

But today is a very special day when it comes to the word ‘thanks’. It is much more than just saying ‘thanks’. We change the getting to giving and end up with that beautiful word, Thanksgiving. It’s giving thanks for so many things. It is thanking God for all that we have. Some may say, right now it’s not great but let me remind you, it’s still better than most.

I give thanks to people in my life who add to the pleasure of living and loving and laughing together.  We actually have that up on the window of our sanctuary as a constant reminder of the beauty of life and all that means. Here in North America, Thanksgiving was a day where people thanked God for the harvest. Now we just go to the grocery store and pick it up not thinking of the men and women all over the world that produce these items for us. As an urban society we have somewhat forgotten that.

The key to all this is knowing who we are to thank, not just for the things we have. In my life I have realizes, and my life is not over yet, that when we truly and faithfully thank God, He smiles and does something more for us.

At the end of the day today, thank Him and give it to Him and Him alone.

Something to think about.

Robin