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A Note From Dr. John
As I write this, it is the day before Thanksgiving. I’m sure all of us have things for which we are thankful. Probably we have a lot more we ought to be thankful for…
The Bible tells us to enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord.
I believe most of us are blessed in ways we never perceive. Let me illustrate. About 25 years ago, we took a large group of youth and adults to do a mission trip among a native American group. We did VBS in several Indian churches and some inner-city areas. One of the Native American churches did not have indoor plumbing. They did have two outhouses. One young female teacher, and a 16-year-old daughter of the Post Chaplain took particular offense at the crude accommodations.
They made sure I knew about the unsanitary and unhealthy conditions. They had never seen or heard of anything like that. They insisted that we do something to change that problem. We actually did have men working on it that week. When we left, they did have bathrooms with a septic system.
Actually, none of the youth knew anything about outhouses. Throughout the week, the older people would kid the youth with outhouse reminiscences. The youth had no clue what the adults meant when they kidded them about being sure to take their Sears and Roebuck catalog. One person suggested that we give a corncob award plaque to the most valuable worker at that site. The youth did not understand. The young people had no idea of what it was to feel nature's call in freezing, rainy weather in the past. They just thought they were with some crazy old people.
My point is that the youth were so used to good housing, indoor plumbing, centralized heating and air, and modern conveniences, that they had no idea of how people lived just a few generations ago. They were blessed in ways beyond their
comprehension. I would suggest that all of us are.
Even if we are going through tough times, we still are likely to find things for which we can give thanks. We should be thankful people. I believe you probably already are. We should continue training ourselves to be better at being grateful.
One of the things for those of us in Dale Baptist Association to be thankful for is the great work through the shoebox ministry this time of year. You need to know that Larry and Brenda Oakley and many, many others have done a tremendous job at leading Operation Christmas Child here. Southside Church provided the place. So many people in our churches responded with love and generosity and gave lots of gifts so that people in distant parts of the world could be blessed. Wherever these boxes go, the recipients will receive material blessings, but also prayer and a personal witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
All of you, together, have given ……….4853 boxes this year! Praise the Lord!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Dr. John
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