A Reason to Give Thanks

Several years ago there was a Charlie Brown cartoon about Thanksgiving in the paper. The cartoon pictured Charlie Brown bringing out Snoopy’s dinner on Thanksgiving Day. But it was just his usual dog food in a bowl. Snoopy took one look at the dog food and said, "This isn’t fair. The rest of the world today is eating turkey with all the trimmings and all I get is dog food. Because I’m a dog," he said, "all I get is dog food." He stood there and stared at his dog food for a moment and said, "I guess it could be worse. I could be a turkey." This cartoon reminded me of a survey my 12 year old granddaughter conducted this past week.  One of the questions asked was, “How many good things have happened to you today?” I hate to admit that it took me a moment to give the answer. Why? I think it’s so easy for humans to focus upon the negative when we have so much good God has blessed us with to be thankful for. While there should have been a host of things to be given as an answer, I simply overlooked them.  Here is a list that someone else gave. I am Thankful for the taxes I pay because it means I’m employed; the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat; my shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine; a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home; the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking; my huge heating bill because it means I am warm; all the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech; the lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear; the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby; the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I’m alive. Although not a complete list, the person gave far more than enough reasons to be thankful. It certainly made me stop and think what about you?