Grandma Rogers Devotionals

Today is thanksgiving day!  That’s a strange thing to say in September, isn’t it?  I’m really not talking about the kind of Thanksgiving complete with turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce; but, rather, I’m talking about “giving thanks”.  This being the fourth letter of the word faith, I thought we would devote the entire time to one word —-THANKFULNESS.

We live in a time when some people might say there isn’t a lot to be thankful for, but I am inclined to think we have much about which to thank God.  We can begin by thanking Him for all our material blessings—home, food, clothing, the car we drive.  Then there is our family, friends, and neighbors, the mailman, our doctor —-many others.  There are a lot of intangibles, too—things we can’t see or touch —but they are there just the same —our health, the love in our lives, a baby’s laugh—even the very air we breathe.  Last, but not least, are the spiritual blessings we receive from our daily walk with Jesus.  So much to be thankful for!  And this is only the beginning.

It would be impossible for me to look at a sky full of stars, or to see apples ripening on a tree, or watch flowers blooming in a garden, or — even sea shells —(so many different kinds)—-to see all this and still say “There is no God.”—–I just couldn’t do that.  I have many other reasons to believe in God, and these are just a few; but, if in my world, just these few that I have mentioned were all that I had, then I would still believe in a God that cares for us.

Have you ever thought about the autumn color on the trees?  What is the purpose of the color?  Why don’t the leaves just turn brown and drop off?  Of course, we all know the reason, but why did God cause this to happen in the way that it does?  I think it was because God wanted us to have a beautiful bouquet of color in the autumn to tide us over until the first green leaves of spring appear.  I look at the colorful autumn leaves as just an “extra gift from God”— and I thank Him for this plan of His.

So far, I’ve been talking about the good things in life.  We all know, however, that each life has its share of “downs” as well as “ups” and we are told to be “thankful in all things”.  This means the bad as well as the good.  Being human, that’s very hard to do, but somehow or another when we do try to find something about which to be thankful during a siege of bad luck, it seems to make it all easier to bear.

I remember reading of an incident that happened in the life of the late Dr. Peter Marshall.  He was, as you may remember, chaplain of the United States Senate for several years.  God was very real to him and he regarded his call to the ministry as “being tapped on the shoulder by the Chief”, as he loved to call his Lord.  He had a great sense of humor, loved the challenge of a game, and the time he spent in his home was very dear to him.  This particular incident happened two or three days after Thanksgiving.  By that time, as any housewife knows, the turkey has been reduced to a pile of bones with a few scraps of meat hanging on. As Dr. Marshall and his family sat down to the table, he lifted the lid on the casserole dish, sighed, looked at his wife and said, “Catherine, you’ll have to say grace tonight.  I’m just not that thankful for turkey hash, and I know I can’t fool the Chief.” I’m sure, in his heart, Dr. Marshall was grateful for the food, but turkey does hang on rather long after Thanksgiving sometimes, doesn’t it?

I seem to be talking a lot about turkeys and Thanksgiving, after all.   It is a time of great thankfulness.  However, there is one big “thank you” that stays in my heart all the time.  To go farther back in time, I thank God for loving all people everywhere.  He loved us so much that He gave His only son.  I thank Jesus, too, for what He did for mankind and I thank Him, too, for leaving us a helper—the Holy Spirit.  Not a thing was forgotten — everything was provided for us.  God’s thoughtfulness makes me very grateful.

I would like to close with an excerpt from a poem I read recently.  These few lines express my feeling when I realize how much God has done for all of us.——and may this be our prayer for today.

“We look around us at each thing
And know, that at one time
Someone arranged to always have them there.
With grateful heart we do the thing
That gives our thanks to God,—-
We kneel and say — a quiet little prayer.”

Amen

Tags: Faith, Gratitude, Thanksgiving
Filed under: Devotionals