“I’ve had some good days, I’ve had some hills to climb…when I look around and I think things over, all of my good days outweigh my bad days; I won’t complain. So I’ll just say thank you Lord, I won’t complain” Rev. Paul Jones
It’s been almost two years since the world came to a stop as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Because of this unforeseen pandemic, many of you have faced insurmountable odds, and some of you are still facing those odds. You have faced trials, tribulations, and trauma. And to add insult to injury, not only were you on lock down in your homes, you were locked away from loved ones, many of whom you never had an opportunity to say a final goodbye before they transitioned from this life. In the midst of your losses, trials, tribulations, and trauma, you have done your best to still be thankful and to be grateful, while seeking reasons for you to say thanks on a daily basis. Being grateful is having an attitude of gratitude, which should be the impetus for you to say thanks no matter how things are, and no matter how things seem. However, I know it can be difficult for you to say thanks and be grateful when your life has been shattered.
It was almost a year ago when Thanksgiving was not celebrated in its usual and customary fashion. The United States, like the rest of the world, was forced to remain indoors, without trips to grandma and grandpa’s house. Parties and family dinners were out, in an effort to not only save your life, but to also save the lives of your loved ones, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. The coronavirus pandemic brought a halt to the Thanksgiving celebration, but for many of you, it did not stop you from giving thanks, no matter how dismal and dim things seemed for you and around you.
I’m always amazed as to how many of you believe that you have to wait for Thanksgiving to arrive for you to give thanks and for you say thanks to anyone for anything. Some of you have difficulty showing your gratefulness. There are even more of you who have difficulty saying thank you. Sadly, there are too many of you who don’t seem to appreciate who you are, where you are, and what you have. You are too busy whining and complaining about who you aren’t, where you aren’t, and what you don’t have. As a matter of fact, you believe that everything you have and all of the accomplishments that you have gained in life, you did on your own; no one helped you and no one has given you anything. In that case, why should you ever lift your head and lift your eyes to anyone for anything, by saying thank you?
You would think that with the loss of more than 750,000 lives in the United States, and millions more around the world, people would see themselves as more blessed and more willing to give thanks on a daily basis. Yes, things have been tough; and in some cases they are still tough! But the bottom line is that you will not get any further in life by being ungrateful. Many of you tend to forget how far you have come from where you started in life. And some of you have not realized how blessed you are by not being counted as one of the COVID-19 coronavirus fatalities or as one of the deaths due to other life situations and life circumstances. You shouldn’t have to wait until you start counting your blessings before taking the time to say ‘thank you.’ And you most certainly shouldn’t have to wait until the eleventh month of the year to recognize your blessings and to give thanks.
Why does it seem as if so many of you are having so much difficulty in being thankful, showing thanks, and actually opening your mouths to say ‘thank you?’ Why do so many of you believe that blessings have to fall from the sky, visible to the world at large, before you are willing to give thank you?
There seems to be so much selfishness and ungratefulness within the world that too many of you believe that the only person who matters is you. To you, it’s all about me, my, and I, instead of you, us, and we. Your increased air of entitlement doesn’t allow you to give thanks or to say thank you to anyone. As a matter of fact, you believe the world should be grateful to you and the world owes you a boatload of thanks. It’s past time for you to recognize from whom your blessings flow. First you must give thanks to God, and learn how to give thanks to others, before your blessings arrive.
If you’re waiting to hit the lottery before you say thank you, keep waiting. If you’re waiting to find that perfect man or perfect woman to marry and to live happily ever after before you say thank you, keep waiting. If you’re waiting to land that six-figure, ideal, remote, part-time job before you say thank you, keep waiting. However, if you wait with thankfulness, you will come to recognize that your waiting won’t be as long and it won’t be in vain. Saying thank you is preparing you for your blessings. When you are thankful, you will come to recognize that some seeming denials of things hoped for are only delays, in order for you to learn patience. Your attitude of gratitude will work in your favor, preparing you for where you’re going, as well as what will be given to you with open doors and open opportunities.
At some point, you will come to realize and recognize that opening your heart, opening your mind, and opening your mouth to say two simple words, ‘thank you,’ will serve as a gateway to opening doors to greater blessings of greater good and greater opportunities. The words, ‘thank you’ should be words of anticipation and expectation in preparation for what is to come, based on the inspiration gained from what is. Saying ‘thank you’ before receiving your blessings should be the norm, rather than the exception. Too often you, like so many others, sit as you wait for the big drop, the big unveiling, the big surprise, or that unidentified grand opportunity to arrive before you say thank you. However, your ungratefulness causes you to miss out on the grace and mercy that has already been afforded you.
No one owes you anything, including God. It wasn’t/isn’t your goodness that keeps you receiving blessings! It’s God’s grace and mercy that you exist, that you awoke this morning, that you have some form of mobility, that you have food to eat, a car to drive, some place to live, that you are reading this eblast, and on and on. And you have the audacity to not say thank you on a continuous basis? Instead of waiting for the bigger things in life to occur and instead of waiting for Thanksgiving to arrive in order for you to say thank you, try saying it now. THANK YOU!!!!
If you’re worried about not having the right friends, thank God for the people He put in your life, as well as the ones He has taken out of your life. There might have been times on the backside of losing a friend, an intimate partner, a husband, or a wife that you have given thanks to God for getting you out of the situation or the relationship.
Imagine if you had been grateful and thankful during the situation/relationship for the insight and information God was showing you as you journeyed through what you considered a nightmare. Being thankful would have allowed you to leave that toxic situation/relationship much sooner than you did. Instead of brooding over your losses, give thanks for your gains derived from the blessings of having had the people in your life that truly mattered as assets for a period of time, while allowing you to get rid of the toxic people who weren’t assets, but liabilities. Be thankful for the lessons that led to your blessings. Learn to give thanks for the car that you had for a brief time, even if it was a hoopty. Giving thanks ahead of time prepares you with optimism to receive your new, fully paid for car that is on the way. Give thanks for the roof over your head, even if it’s not the mansion you dreamed of having. Your gratefulness and thankfulness allow you to believe, in preparation for an even larger and more affordable home.
Be grateful and give thanks for the job that allowed you to pay your bills for a period of time, even if it wasn’t your ideal job. Give thanks until you can gain what is needed for you to have the job that will prepare you economically for a lifetime. Continue to give thanks for where you are, in preparation for where you’re going…be grateful!
It’s important to recognize that being grateful and saying thanks aren’t just gateways to doors for blessings, they are also blessings themselves. My mother used to say, “You complain about having no shoes, go on a little farther and you’ll find a man with no feet. Keep going and you will find a man with no legs. Why are you complaining? Be grateful and give thanks.”
I’m sure some of you are thinking that the ability to be grateful and give thanks in the midst of the darkness associated with the trials, tribulations, and trauma is hard to find. I do understand. I had four family members and two extremely close friends to transition from this life in the last seven months. Yes, disappointment, anger, disbelief, and grief entered my life, but it was/is God’s grace and mercy that allowed me to look on the light side of my losses, instead of looking on the dark side of my losses. It has been my ability to give God thanks for allowing me to have had these wonderful people in my life that has helped me to deal with the losses. I give thanks for the fond memories that I have of each of the people whose lives I cherish. And I am thankful that I can continue to carry them in my heart. Even in the midst of my losses, I give thanks and I say thank you God! For me, everyday is a day of thanksgiving and I give thanks to God and to the men, women, boys, and girls for the positive impact they make in my life.
I challenge you, if you aren’t already doing so, to learn how to say thanks before your blessings come. Give even greater thanks after receiving your blessings. I challenge you to ask for what you need by learning how to say please, resulting in you using the two words that mean the most, ‘thank you,’ once you’ve been helped. I challenge you give God thanks each and every day for even the small things in life, for the blessings you have already received, in preparation for the greater blessings yet to come.
I challenge you in the midst of your losses, trials, tribulations, and traumas to keep looking up with a heart of thanksgiving. During this Thanksgiving season, I challenge you to give God thanks for what you have and not focus on what you don’t have. I challenge you to give God thanks for where are and not where you think you should be. I challenge you to thank God for the people He has placed in your life, as well as the ones He took out of your life. And if you have had loved ones to transition from this life, I challenge you to give God thanks by celebrating the lives of your loved ones, instead of mourning your losses.
When you give thanks before your blessings, you will come to recognize that you are already highly blessed and you won’t have to wait for the eleventh month of each year to arrive, in order for you to give hanks and be thankful! Say ‘thank you’ now and continue to say ‘thank you’ on the other three hundred and sixty-four days of the year!
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
