Hi, I’m Joni, and I sure do love singing the old hymns. In fact, here’s a fitting hymn for Thanksgiving Day.
For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth over and around us lies
Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.
I think it was in elementary school that I learned this hymn in music class—can you imagine they taught something like that in public school back in the 1950’s? Our class learned it for a Thanksgiving play. And the words are so fitting – as it says, it’s a hymn of grateful praise. That may have been many years ago, but I am so thankful that I’m still singing grateful praises to God. And the Lord has used my disability to hone that habit – early on in my life in his wheelchair, I realized how important it is be grateful and to express it. I mean, people do so many things for me, or to me. Now, I consider myself a pretty independent woman, and I like to do as much as I can for myself. But still, someone has to brush my teeth, get me dressed, empty my leg bag, help me out of bed or into bed at night, do all sorts of things, and I’m quick to say, “Thank you for helping me.” And I mean it.
You know, I remember the time when my friend, Judy, came into my office and asked if she could borrow $10. I was busy doing something else and I absent-mindedly said, “Sure, take it out of my wallet” which she did. When I heard my purse snap shut behind me, I automatically said in a cheery voice, "Thank you." Judy gave me the strangest look and was quick to say, “No, Joni, I’m the one who supposed to say ‘thank you’, not you, me.” It caused quite a laugh, but later on I thought about why I responded so automatically. I guess I’m just programmed to say ‘thank you’ whenever anyone “does” anything, like gives me a drink, helps me in the van, or feeds me lunch, or gives me coffee. It’s an automatic—“thank you”!
I wish it were that way with the Lord. Wouldn’t it be nice if we were all programmed to be grateful? Like automatic—countless of times, without thinking … oh that we would say, ‘Thank you, Jesus, for this, or bless you Lord for that’ no, especially when it seems God is taking something away rather than giving it.
Friend, today is Thanksgiving—a day of gratitude to God for all the many blessings of this life. And of all the things God wants to do in your life, cultivating a spirit of gratitude ranks right near the top. Because remember, we’re told in Romans chapter 1, verse 21 that one of the reasons God gave men over to their sinful ways was because they failed to be thankful. Hey, I don’t want to be in that camp! And neither do you. So today, this evening, right now or around your dinner table make Thanksgiving truly count by expressing out loud your gratitude to God. And when you have a minute today, go to my radio page at joniandfriends.org and download your gratitude journal – seven days of recording things for which you are thankful to God. That’s something you want to do on automatic!
© Joni and Friends
Compliments of Joni and Friends
PO Box 3333 Agoura Hills, CA 91376
www.joniandfriends.org