Thankful

I'm a big fan of singer/songwriter Jonny Lang. He made his first recording at age 15, playing and singing years beyond his age. Amy and I saw him live in Calgary last year, and he was amazing, although a tad too loud (no, I'm not that old...it was just really loud!) One of his songs is Thankful, a great tune that gives us a look at how else our life could be, and that we should be thankful for what we have. He does reference in the song about being thankful to the Lord (Jonny is a Christian, much to the dismay of many that were fans from his first recording).

Luke 17:11-19 is a reference to Jesus' healing 10 lepers. Only one comes back to express his thankfulness to Christ for healing him, the other nine were too excited in their great fortune to stop and express their thankfulness for the great gift of healing, as they ran off to tell everyone of their great blessing. It's not that they weren't thankful, it was that they didn't express their thankfulness to the One that they should have. We do this often in our own lives, as we spend too much time looking at what we don't have, the recognition that we didn't get, rather than being thankful to God for the blessings that He bestows upon us every day. If we keep in mind that Jesus came and gave us eternal life through His sacrifice upon the cross, we will tend to forgive more, and be more thankful for what we have.

I have tried to put this principle into practice over the last couple of weeks. I've had a couple of people come into mind, and I've called them or spoke to them personally about how thankful I am for them, how they're a blessing to so many people, and just to recognize their helpful and serving attitudes. I had no idea the impact that this would have on them. One person broke into tears as they needed to hear some words of encouragement, the other was very greatful for the kind words. I don't say this to pat myself on the back, but to encourage others to show kindness and thankfulness to others. You may never know the impact it will have on another.

Be thankful to the Lord as He has given us more than we can ever fathom.