Today on “Family & Friends Friday,” I’m blessed to have my wife Ruthie as my guest blogger! We have been married for 30 years, and I can assure you that “she opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue” (Prov. 31:26). So I was thrilled when Ruthie submitted this article to me on a subject that is not only near and dear to her heart, but one that also beautifies her heart: gratitude.
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As I was packing up some teaching supplies after a Sunday morning children’s church lesson, my heart was warmed when one of the young girls aged 9 or 10 came directly up to me, looked me in the eye and said, “Thank you, Mrs. Fletcher, for teaching me today.” She then headed off down the hall with her dad.
I remember thinking to myself, “Wow, it’s quite obvious that this young lady’s parents have made it a priority to train her to be intentionally thankful.” I use the word “intentional” because it’s easy for all of us to go about our daily business, being unmindful of the many blessings that surround us.
James reminds us that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father,” and our response should be as revealed in a plethora of Scriptures, to “give thanks,” “bless His name,” “tell of His wondrous works,” and “sing praise in your heart.”
From the moment we open our eyes and plant our feet on the floor each morning, ready to receive the gift of another day, may God make us aware and grateful for the common graces of breath in our lungs, homes to shelter us, food to nourish us, clothing, a beautiful creation to explore, family, freedoms in our country and so much more.
And for those of us who have trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, and can call God our Heavenly Father, how incredibly blessed we are to be partakers of the special graces of a home awaiting us in heaven, Scripture that is alive and powerful, the amazing gift of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ our great High Priest who provides us access to the God of the universe!
How can we not give thanks?
Given the fact that we are all naturally prone to being self-absorbed and ungrateful, cultivating a thankful heart takes prayer and consistent effort.
Ask God to make us acutely aware of blessings around us and to give us a tender, humble, appreciative mindset.
Work to exercise the discipline of being thankful.
As a parent, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of both modeling and perpetuating this in the impressionable hearts and minds of our children. It starts with a teaching your toddler to say “please” and “thank you” for his peanut butter sandwich … to appealing to the heart of your 6 or 7 year old based on everything we enjoy coming down from a loving God … which in turn leads to working to drive home to your teenager the full thrusts of the gospel — contrasting what we really deserve with what was provided for us in the person of Jesus Christ.
This is a tall order, to be sure. But God never calls us to a task without giving us what we need to accomplish it.
So as we head into this special season of Thanksgiving at the end of a particularly difficult year, may we take to heart the words of C. S. Lewis:
Gratitude exclaims very properly,
”How good of God to give me this.”
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Editor’s Note: I will be on vacation from now through Thanksgiving weekend. So the weekday G.E.T. devotionals will resume on November 30.