Thankfulness June 8, 2009

Yesterday, our church members revealed how much they love my father. They signed and made a friendship quilt. It is done in red, white, and blue, as fashioned after the wheelchair quilts he makes for the wounded soldiers. We have all kept this a secret for a few months. He had absolutely no clue it was coming.

Yesterday afternoon, we were talking about it. He said he can’t even look at it because every time he tries, “something” gets in his eyes. That “something” is tears. He is so thankful that his emotions gets the better of him. It’s because he knows that the quilt was thought out and made out of love for him.

He does the same thing for other people. Did you know that? For years, after a family member was in the hospital and released, he would buy a nice box of Esther Price candy and take it to the nurses who cared for the patient. He has done that for the nurses working with the radiation and chemo doctors. He shows his appreciation and love for them by giving a little something back. It is not much and probably not something he wants to even talk about.

Thankfulness is something that we expect to be, and not as much as an act. Dad shows that he can feel thankful, but he also does something for someone else as an act. Not just an act of kindness but because he wants to show his emotion.

Many times the Psalmist(s) and others remind us to give God thanks.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 118:29
In that day you will say: "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Isaiah 12:4
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 15:57

In Psalms, the theme of giving the Lord thanks because his loves endures forever is most prevalent. The writer(s) seem to want us to know that God is good and will never not be there. In Isaiah, it is to exalt Him and proclaim His name. In I Corinthians, thankfulness goes to a new level because we now of the claim of Jesus as our Savior! I am most thankful for that!

Pray for those that you are thankful for today. Then act on it. It doesn’t have to be anything other than a card. You’ll know what to do.