Being Thankful

In a Bible study years ago, we discussed being thankful, and I’m reminded of that session often. There are days when it’s easy to give thanks, times with so much good in our lives, that it could come quite naturally. Though when we’re having fun it may slip by us to say the words. Thinking of the abundance of good food, the sunshine on a day such as today as I write this post, and friends and family around me.

In the study I mentioned, we were reminded to give thanks, even when it’s not easy, as Paul the apostle did when he talked about the thorn in his flesh. What was that about? “In all things, give thanks.” But I wasn’t thinking of Paul. I was thinking of myself and what was around me.

I struggled with that statement. I mean, how does one say thanks for turmoil within the home, or for health challenges. Or for the death of a good friend that made me sadder still. I knew friends were praying for me and it surely felt like I was climbing a mountain. Insurmountable stuff. At least that’s the way it felt.

In time, I could look back—if not at the moment—and know there were people around me holding me up, and as in the Footprints poem, that God had been there all the time carrying me. And so I could say “Thank you, God” for that.

Today I say thank you more easily for home and family, for work that brings in income, for available health services we need, and a country at peace. I can encourage others for I have been through a few valleys, including the death of several close friends in the past couple of years, and both of my parents.

This month marks one year from Mom’s death, and though I miss her so much, I can say thanks for her life and what it meant to me, and all the things she did for me. For persistence when I was a small child and not developing as I should, for her continuing to seek answers. When she believed in me when I had trouble believing in myself, and later when she celebrated my publishing successes with me. Indeed, she was one of my best cheerleaders. Both my parents were that for me.

In a poem prompt last October in Poetic Bloomings, an online poetry group, members were asked to write about cornucopias, those baskets filled with good things and shown in art especially at Thanksgiving and harvest time. My poem took a different turn and came out this way:

Always Something Good*

It doesn’t matter the container

a straw basket, cornucopia

or a box for treasures

in spite of disappointments and sadness

there’s always something

a good night of sleep, a gift from a friend

a helping hand when needed

Slip on socks of thankfulness

even in the dark and stormy moments

when all hope seems lost

 

And so today, wherever you find yourself, I hope there is something for which you can give thanks, even in a most difficult situation. Or perhaps you have much to say thanks for right now. Let’s give thanks to God for those things he gives us, including the grace that came along with Jesus’ birth. May you have a blessed Thanksgiving!

 Carolyn R. Wilker is an author and editor from southwestern Ontario, Canada.

https://www.carolynwilker.ca/about/

* Also from Travelling Light by Carolyn R. Wilker