Happy Thanksgiving! May I share a few uncommon thoughts with you under the heading of Thanksgiving Is Not A Turkey!? Though I r e a l l y love Thanksgiving turkey, it’s not about turkey is it? Well, what is it about? Here are thanks-giving truths that rarely make it to our Thanksgiving table – but truly fill us up, leave us satisfied and wanting more.
Since health care is THE big issue today, how can thanks-giving bring health?Here’s a true story to illustrate: A poor Scottish farmer out walking, heard a child’s cry, and ran to rescue a boy mired in muck to his waist. He saved him. Next day the boy’s nobleman Dad gratefully offered him a reward – but he rufused. Seeing the farmer’s young son standing nearby, he offered to provide for his education. This the father liked and accepted. Years passed, the Scottish farmer’s son graduated from St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London. His name? Sir Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin. Years later, the nobleman’s own son was stricken with pneumonia. Thankfully, he was saved from the muck of his sickness by the power of penicillin. Who was the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. Who was his son? Winston Churchill – the man whose heroic spirit, voice and will galvanized England to withstand Hitler’s murderous assault in World War II.
What critical factor made this amazing account happen? Thanks-giving – the life-altering TG factor. Thanks-giving is no turkey – but it transforms us as we receive and/or release it:
- TG can take you out of the muck-pit of life.
- TG can alter the course of your life.
- TG can bring you into contact with people who shape you for your’s life’s calling.
- TG can educate you.
- TG can provide for you.
- TG can affect millions over time, in places and events from a single episode in life.
And most importantly, God acts as we give thanks. How? “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus…and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:6ff)
What’s better than turkey? Thanks-giving!
In His Name, Chuck
P.S.: Share your “Thanks” story? Let me hear from you.