So, what is Thanksgiving? Is it just another
holiday?
Is
it a time when family and friends come together for a meal, eat way too much,
talk, share, laugh, reminisce, take a nap, play football, watch the parades,
get ready for Black Friday? Or maybe the meal is rice and canned
beans? A peanut butter sandwich?
But,
what about... The homeless man? The hungry child with no food. The
widow down the street? The family living in poverty? The mother in
jail? The young orphan longing for a family? The baby dying from
cancer? The one who has no family? The one who has lost
everything? The pregnant teenager alone and scared? The boy who is
abused? The man who is unloved? The one who has given up on
life? The soldier fighting overseas? The frail man in
the nursing home? The wife who is beaten? The one without a
job? The parents who can’t afford a coat? The lonely couple across
town?
Now,
imagine each of these are you. Okay, how thankful would you be?
Honestly. Seriously.
Tomorrow
is Thursday...Thanksgiving. Many us will overindulge, many of us will go
hungry, many of us will be all alone. What
about me? Tomorrow, I’ll be with family, sit in a comfortable chair,
enjoy the Thanksgiving meal, maybe take a nap, check out the sales papers.
Personally,
I can count my many blessings one-by-one into eternity. Shouldn’t I be a
blessing to others? Share the love of God to others? It stabs
my heart when I know, especially as a Christian, this is not how Jesus
wants me to be. This is not who Jesus wants me to be.
And
Jesus said...
34 “Then the King will say to those on his
right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared
for you from the creation of the world. 35 For
I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave
me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your
home. 36 I was naked,
and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for
me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord,
when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something
to drink? 38 Or a
stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in
prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you
the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and
sisters, you were doing it to me!’
41 “Then the King will turn to those on the
left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared
for the devil and his demons, 42 For
I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a
drink. 43 I was a
stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t
give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when
did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in
prison, and not help you?’
45 “And He will answer, ‘I tell you the
truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you
were refusing to help me.’
Matthew
25:34-45 NLT
The author and composer of ‘Turn
Your Eyes Upon Jesus’, Helen H. Lemmel, relates that one day, in
1918, a missionary friend gave her a tract entitled “Focused.” The pamphlet contained these words— 
Birds are pecking away at the feeders, devouring both seed
and suet. They are skirting across the
deck, hopping around, flying to a shrub and back again, looking for a free spot
at the table. (Thankfully, they seem oblivious
to the chatter and the swooshing tail of the cat inside. Or sometimes at the kitchen sink.) They sing, they chirp, they speak, they call,
they tweet, they squeak, they chat, and yes, they twitter. They gather around and flap about in the bird
bath. But they will never know how much I enjoy
them.
I am a sinner and I will always
be a sinner. It’s not quite this simple,
but Jesus died to take away my sin. I've been a Christian for many years, yet it’s still hard for me to wrap this around my head
and around my heart. I know this for
sure: ‘For God loved the
world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him
will not perish but have eternal life. 
He gives power to the weak
I’ve spent a lot of time lately gazing out at my backyard secret garden and day
dreaming about all the things I long to do and things I want to do and things I
need to do and things I love to do. There
are bulbs that need planting, some shrubs that need trimming, flower seeds to
collect, a new flower bed to prepare, shrubs and flowers that need
transplanting, the garden pond needs some attention, two birdhouses need to be set
up, two brackets mounted on the arbor for the new bird feeders. Right now, all I can manage is keeping water
in the birdbath, filling the bird feeders, and hanging suet baskets. To me, this is more than just a hobby, it’s rather
like a sense of duty I gladly accept.
I love being outside, getting dirty, breathing in fresh air, enjoying a
breeze, listening to the music, and appreciating all of nature, from the little
orange beetle to the red-tailed hawk to the hungry raccoon to the sneaky
opossum and the writing spiders and yes, even the very long shiny black rat snake. I have been awed by the fall colors, look
forward to winter snow, but, most of all, I will savor every single bit of God’s
creation and soak in His wonderful gifts of nature.
It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works
out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the
end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the
future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put
our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings,
He will hear our prayers.
Nature is God’s first missionary.
For ever since the world was created,
people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can
clearly see His invisible qualities His eternal power and divine nature. So
they have no excuse for not knowing God.
Seek His will in all you do,
