A TIME TO BE THANKFUL FOR OTHERS

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Thanksgiving day is upon us, a time to be thankful with many families and friends gathering together enjoying each other over a nice Thanksgiving dinner.  O’ so much we are to be thankful for especially for people who are a part of our lives.  In this season, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, we celebrate our thanksgiving to God, for the birth of His Son, Jesus, for each other and our Country.  What does our thanksgiving look like when we think about our relationships in our day-to-day life?

Pondering over this, my mind drifts to an older man.  I do not know him very well, just a few facts that he has shared when I have taken the time to stop and listen.  He no longer is able to stand for a long period of time and walks with the help of a cane.  He has family close by, yet few visitors come to his door.  He is in this place each week and there he sits in a chair looking out to those who walk by him back and forth, the voices he hears as he sits and watches others in conversation.  Sad as it may be, week after week not many people talk to him, sometimes I wonder if he feels invisible even in a crowded room?  There have been times, I have only taken time to say hi, but hurry on my way to either talk to someone else or off to a meeting.  Is he hungry for a smile, touch or conversation?  What is he thankful for as life passes him by?  Does he know the Lord in an intimate way?  Who of us takes time to feed his soul or do we think his soul is full since he is old?  Do we put more of our attention to the next generation and leave this older generation to find their way on their own?

Relationships of all types are messy, relationships are hard and relationships need to cause us to persevere forward to share our love and care with others especially when we find ourselves selfishly thinking only of what matters to us.

Let us give thanksgiving to God through relationships in three ways:

  1. Love Your Neighbor As Yourself:  Let us give thanks to God for the people he brings to us daily.  Opportunities of loving our neighbors as ourselves come to us each day whether we realize or not.  They may come in small ordinary ways or great ways where love is difficult and takes everything we have to show it.  I pray our eyes will be open to see whom God brings along our path and to take action to nurture and love them.
  • For the whole law is fulfilled in one word:  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Gal 5:14)
  1. Honoring Others:  Let us see each and every person we come into contact with as a person who is made in the image of God.  Believing God connected us for a purpose of which sometimes we may not understand.  Begin today, the act of listening intently to people, putting their needs ahead our own, and showing honor to each other.
  • Love one another with brotherly affection.  Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12:10)
  1. Extend Grace and Mercy to Others:  Let us be moved to show grace and mercy to all especially those times when we do not feel it is warranted.  Many times the relationships God brings into our lives are with people different than us whom we might consider difficult to deal with for reasons to grow us in the exact same areas to be more Christ-like and keep us humble.  Just as He extended grace and mercy to us so shall we do likewise with others.
  • Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb 4:16)

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving Extending Love to One Another!

 

 

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