Dream Awakener

thankful tree

Originally uploaded by jenosale

“A cheerful heart is good medicine.” Proverbs 17:22

God gives us his Spirit for many reasons, to overcome temptation, share the good news with others… but one that I think about as we are approaching Thanksgiving is that God gives us the power to be thankful in tough times. We can be thankful even in the midst of difficulties. I think we are all familiar with Murphy’s Law: Nothing is as easy as it looks; everything takes longer than you expect; and if anything can go wrong, it will and at the worst possible moment. Life is a gift, but life is difficult.

One man said “Preacher, how can I be thankful, I can’t even pay my bills. The preacher said, “If you can’t pay your bills, thank God that your not one of your creditors.” Are you thankful?

A wife said to her husband, what are you most thankful for concerning me? My natural beauty, or my vivacious personality, or my ravishing body, and the husband replied, “I’m most thankful for your unlimited imagination.” That is diplomacy.

Before Thanksgiving a first-grade teacher asked her pupils to tell her what they had to be thankful for. One small boy said, “I’m thankful that I am not a turkey.” Now I have one friend who has really learned how to be thankful at all times, he even says thank you when an automatic door opens for him. That’s when you know you have a thankful heart.