Think to Thank

The following letter was written by a college student to her mother. It reads:

“Dear Mom: Sorry I haven’t written sooner. My arm really has been broken. I broke it, and my left leg, when I jumped from the second floor of my dormitory during the fire. We were lucky. A young service station attendant saw the blaze and called the Fire Department. They were there in minutes. I was in the hospital for a few days. Paul, the service station attendant, came by to see me every day. And because it was taking so long to get our dormitory livable again, I moved in with him. He has been so nice. Paul and I plan to get married just as soon as he can get a divorce. I hope things are fine at home. I’m doing fine, and will write more when I get the chance. Love, Your daughter, Susie.”

“P.S. None of the above is true. But I did get a ‘C’ in Sociology and flunked Chemistry. I just wanted you to receive this news in its proper perspective!”

If mom remained conscious during the reading of the entire letter she probably breathed a sigh of relief at the end. I guess the daughter had learned something at college after all. Truth is, it would serve us all well to gain some perspective at times. When the world seems to be carrying us away in its current, when stressful times hit, or when we trivial matters start to affect our attitude; that’s when we could use a little perspective. My parents were good at teaching me how to have perspective in life. At the dinner table they would say things like, “Eat all your vegetables. There are little children in other countries that are starving.” At that time I thought to myself, “If they were having to eat these vegetables they would be starving." Or when I was acting a little spoiled my mother would say, “Do you know how fortunate you are to have the things you have; a roof over your head, nice clothes, new toys and parents who love you?” My grandfather often tried to shed perspective on life by telling me how he used to walk 10 miles to school, uphill, both ways. He’d tell me about how easy I had it compared to when he was growing up. It’s easy to get caught up in our surroundings and lose perspective. It’s very easy to take things for granted or to start to feel a sense of entitlement. Many of us our blessed beyond what we deserve, but rarely pause long enough to give thanks to the source of those blessings.

Are you a “taker” in your relationship with God, or are you a “giver?" Certainly, all of us have been the recipient of divine blessings, but are you a sponge that soaks up those blessings and never gives anything in return? Are you careless with your blessings? Or are you dispenser? Do you dispense thankfulness to your heavenly Father for all that He has blessed you with?

We don’t deserve anything! And despite what our culture would lead us to believe, we are not entitled to anything. Don’t ever think that you are so wonderful that God owes you something. Thanksgiving is about understanding that everything you have is a gift from God. Someone is taking care of you, even though you don’t deserve it. Life itself is a gift. Don’t be careless with this gift.