Being Thankful

Thanksgiving will soon be here. In anticipation of the day we even had our favorite pumpkin bread the other night which fills the house with such wonderful aromas! As the holiday nears my heart turns to thoughts of thankfulness. There are so many things I am thankful for: my husband, my children and granchildren, my extended family, our home, etc. But as I pondered which one to extol, my thoughts turned to the Lord Himself, the maker of all these things. I can't imagine not knowing Him and living a life without His daily presence. Recently I read a book set in Provence, France. I was intrigued with the attention given to food preparation, food presentation, food consumption. It made me want to take up french cooking! But as I neared the end of the book it was apparent that though the author knew all there was to know about french cooking he did not know God. There was nothing overt and vile, just a keen absence of any reference to the almighty. This man had lived his entire life cultivating an appetitie for delicious things of this world but never seeking after the bread of heaven. How sad. When I encounter people like this it does two things: makes me want to pray for their salvation and causes me to once again be amazed that the Lord would choose me. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and reminded afresh of His sweet mercy and forgiveness. The cross is once again brought into full view. As we are given the opportunity to spend time over the holidays with those who do not know the Lord, let's contemplate how we can be the fragrant aroma of Christ to them. At first glance they may seem to be just nice, ordinary folks. But let's ask the Lord for spiritual eyes to see them as He sees them: Spiritually starving and in need of the bread of heaven. Oh may we have many encounters with these kinds of people and speak words of real comfort and joy! ~ Brenda Edwards