Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6: 38
“What are you doing for Thanksgiving?” I’ve been asked this question several times over the last few weeks. You probably have, as well. I’ve asked the question of others. We tend to ask this by habit. Typical responses are: “Family gatherings; traveling; we’re going to a restaurant; having friends in …” Sometimes the person says they have no plans. Perhaps we may extend an invitation to them, but then we don’t. Somewhere inside of us wants them to enjoy some connection for the holiday. Perhaps a real Thanksgiving is not only in celebrating with family and friends but also a giving of ourselves to others—giving someone else something to help them be thankful.
Giving of ourselves to others does not need to challenge our purses. We might invite the college kid away from home to our family dinner or take a meal to an elderly shut-in. We could provide a meal for some homeless people or a young single mother who can’t afford the fixings for a big meal. We could spend the day at a nursing home, chatting with a lonely resident. We might choose to serve dinner at a local church or any number of things. These are some ways to give ourselves.
How about calling up someone you haven’t seen or talked to for a bit? Go sit with someone in the hospital; give a listening ear to someone; inviting a neighbor in for a cup of tea or coffee and a game of Scrabble. We want to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ with others who may not know Him. What better way to give testimony to His mercy than sharing mercy with one who sees their world as inhuman and brutal? What better way to tell of His grace than by being gracious to someone who struggles daily with the effrontery and cruelty of the world where they walk?
We can live “Thanksgiving” every day in the lives of others. A friendly chat with the checkout person at the grocery store may go a long way in the hour-after-hour boredom of swiping food articles over the scanner. A daily text to an elderly person may be the means of their get-up-and-go for another day.
Yes, we may be thankful for so many things: food, freedom, family, faith, and a full life. I want to live Thanksgiving so the world about me can be thankful.
I am thankful for you.
I’M THANKFUL
I’m thankful for the promise of a lovely day.
And if the day is sunny or is blessed with rain,
Whether blessed with peace or edged with pain,
or if the day brings loss or some surprising gain,
I will believe the promise of a lovely day.
I’m thankful for the quiet of the early hour,
when nature’s noises of creation fill the air,
when subtle voices of God’s Word express His care,
and when I feel a challenge for this good day’s dare.
I revel in the quiet of the early hour.
I’m thankful for the memories from yesterday
of friendly conversation with a loyal friend,
of knowing there are truths on which I can depend,
and sharing shoulders willing for my burdens lend.
I won’t forget the memories from yesterday.
I’m thankful for whatever’s in tomorrow’s bag,
for I will be drawn closer to my final hour,
should such an hour be sweet or something sour,
yet always seasoned with the Spirit’s Godly power.
I’m looking for whatever’s in tomorrow’s bag.
And one day thankfulness will be embraced in full,
when I am called away to see my Savior’s face,
when I no longer wonder where my path will trace,
and I’ll be bathed in joy of God’s eternal grace,
where each day’s thanksgiving will be embraced in full.
June E. Titus
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