Several years ago it was the coldest day of the year and our heat stopped working. I went out to assess the situation by taking a look at the condenser, and soon realized that the only thing colder than that day was the thick layer of ice that wrapped around the metal box that was supposed to be providing heat for my family and me. When the HVAC technician finally showed up and I asked how he was, he looked at me and replied, “brother, I’m blessed beyond all that I ever deserve.”
It occurs to me that there are many ways to approach life in this world. There are different perspectives with which people may choose to view their lives, circumstances, and general place in life, and when I am at my best I choose to approach life as a blessed child of God, blessed beyond all that I deserve. Many in our world choose to approach life as a victim, and some face the world with a sense of entitlement. For others, luck seems to play a big part of their worldview, and there are still those who take their cues from A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh character Eor, an eternal pessimist who always has a sense of impending doom. While I am prone to all of these, in my heart of hearts I believe that we are all blessed by God beyond all that we deserve.
I have a devotional book that offers me a short thought each day, and on many days at the end of the reflection I jot down a list of things that I am grateful for that day. It is a simple exercise that sets my world in perspective. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I offer to you one a short list of what I am thankful for today:
I am thankful for my wife of almost 26 years,
who I can’t imagine doing life without,
who reminds me of things that are most important,
and who I still would choose to spend my time with before anybody else.
I am thankful for my three wonderful daughters;
that family is important to them,
that they each have unique gifts,
and that they are fiercely independent and strong.
I am thankful for my church family at May Memorial;
I am thankful for my parents and my wife’s parents,
that they made us go to church as children—even when it wasn’t fun,
that they sent us to college and expected us take responsibility for ourselves when we became adults and were married.
I am thankful that this year’s election is over, and that all the signs are down, especially mine.
I am thankful for my home,
that it is warm and safe,
that it faces east so the sun shines in the front windows in the morning,
and that I don’t have to act like a pastor there;
I am thankful that I have all I need, and so much more;
I am thankful God gives me things for free that I could never afford…
like the joy of sitting by a fire in my yard with my family,
and the wonder of a sunset over the ocean on summer vacation.
I am thankful for the people that I have met that I would have never sought out and the things I learned from them;
I am thankful that I have not found it necessary to take a drink today, or for many years, just to make it through.
I am thankful for the painful experiences that taught me things I would have never learned without them;
I am thankful for music and people who compose or perform it,
like Johnny Cash, Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, and Doc Watson,
and Vaughan Williams, J.S. Bach, Morten Lauridsen,
Herbert Howells, and C. V. Stanford.
This week leading to Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful, and when we stop to consider it just for a moment, aren’t we all blessed? Aren’t we all blessed beyond all that we deserve?