Counting Your Blessings

It was Thanksgiving day and the aroma of roast turkey filled Charlie Brown's house. Snoopy, who was outside lying on top of his dog house, smelled that aroma, and he thought to himself, "It's Thanksgiving Day. Everybody eats turkey on Thanksgiving Day!"

So he lay there, watching the back door, eagerly awaiting his Thanksgiving feast. Finally, the door opened and here comes Charlie Brown with a bowl of dog food, and he put it on the ground in front of his faithful pet. Snoopy got off his house and stared at the dog food with a disappointed look on his face. He thinks, "Just because I'm a dog, I have to eat dog food on Thanksgiving Day."

Then the next square of the comic strips shows him looking at the dog food more intently, and he is thinking, "It could be worse. I could be the turkey!"

Indeed. Even those of us who have gone through some difficult days in the past few years--from surviving a pandemic, to living in a time of great political and economic turmoil--we all have much to be thankful for, even when we don't think things are going our way. Here's a reminder I read this week that encourage us to keep an "attitude of gratitude" all the year, but especially in this season of giving thanks.

If...you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy. If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world. If you can attend church meetings without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion in the world.

And, I will add, if you have heard the gospel, have been introduced to God's grace, and have experienced a personal relationship with His Son Jesus, you are blessed for time and eternity! "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever." (Psalm 107:1)

I hope that is the theme of your Thanksgiving this coming week, even in these crazy times. God is good, even when you don't always see it, but we really need to practice seeing it. It's still a good habit to count your blessings, and even name them one by one, as the old hymn writer told us.

With that in mind, let me take a minute during this week of Thanksgiving to express my thanks to God (and to you my church family) for the blessed privilege of serving as your pastor. I do count it such a joy to serve you--and serve with you-- and I'm so grateful that the Lord has led us together in this fellowship we call Shelby Crossings.

I look forward to seeing you Sunday.

--Pastor Ken