8 things to be thankful for

Be grateful…

… for automatic dishwashers. They make it possible to get out of the kitchen before the family comes in for their after-dinner snacks.
… for husbands who attack small repair jobs around the house. They usually make them big enough to call in professionals.
… for the bathtub – the one place the family allows Mom some time to herself.
… for children who put away their things and clean up after themselves. They’re such a joy you hate to see them go home to their own parents.
… that we can still have a good heart-to-heart talk with out youngsters. They need a good one now and then.
… for gardening. It’s a relief to deal with dirt outside the house for a change.
… for teenagers. They give parents an opportunity to learn a second language.
… for smoke alarms. They let you know when the turkey’s done.

-By Gene Perrett


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Corrie Ten Boom in The Hiding Place relates an incident which taught her this principle. She and her sister, Betsy, had just been transferred to the worst German prison camp they had seen yet, Ravensbruck. Upon entering the barracks, they found them extremely overcrowded and flea-infested. Their scripture reading that morning in 1 Thessalonians had reminded them to rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances. Betsy told Corrie to stop and thank the Lord for every detail of their new living quarters. Corrie at first flatly refused to give thanks for the fleas, but Betsy persisted. She finally succumbed. During the months spent at the camp, they were surprised to find how openly they could hold Bible study and prayer meetings without guard interference. It was several months later when they learned that the guards would not enter the barracks because of the fleas.

-Sermons Illustrated November/December 1988

 


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Why did only one cleansed leper return to thank Jesus? The following are nine suggested reasons why the nine did not return.

One waited to see if the cure was real.
One waited to see if it would last.
One said he would see Jesus later.
One decided that he had never had leprosy.
One said he would have gotten well anyway.
One gave the glory to the priests.
One said, “Oh well, Jesus didn’t really do anything.”
One said, “Just any rabbi could have done it.”
One said, “I was already much improved.”

-Charles L. Brown, Main Street Monitor


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Bible commentator Matthew Henry, after being robbed, wrote this in his diary:

Let me be thankful – first because I was never robbed before. Second, because although they took my wallet they did not take my life. Third, because although they took my all, it was not much. Fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.


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