Thankful Children

“What are you thankful for?”

No, I’m not rushing the holiday season by celebrating Thanksgiving in August. Our church’s Vacation Bible School song leader posed that question to the children one evening, and her question made me think about my level of thankfulness. Before I share their answers, what comes to your mind when I ask, “What are you thankful for?”

Whenever I’ve asked that question of adults around Thanksgiving, I can often predict their answers.

• Health
• Family
• Church

Here’s how the kids at Vacation Bible School answered:

• Food
• Water
• Homework (Not sure where that one came from but hey, why not?)
• Fish
• Family
• Waffles (Good kid!)
• Church

You know what I like about the children’s list? It’s specific. It’s not rote. It’s what was on their minds at that moment. They reminded me to not take the small, mundane things for granted and to be creative instead of going on auto pilot with stock answers. They prompted me to be thankful for even the unpleasant things because ultimately, those things will be for my good.

Their answers brought this Bible verse to mind:

“In everything gives thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – I Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV)

EVERYTHING!

Other translations say in all circumstances. And it’s more than a suggestion; it’s a directive from God — this is God’s will. If I want to know God’s will for me, here it is: God’s will is that I find something to be thankful for in every situation. Our ability to be specific in our thankfulness indicates our level of sincerity. A detailed list of what we are thankful for or reasons why we are thankful for certain things demonstrates that our thankfulness is deeper than a shallow, impulsive answer.

That’s what I want to do. I want my thankful attitude to move to a deeper level.

So, what am I thankful for this morning?

• A cool morning with just a touch of soft breeze and cloud cover
• Scrambled eggs
• A happy dog
• My fatigue – because it means I’ve been active and I have the strength to be active
• Facebook – with all its faults, it still provides me a fantastic way to connect with other people
• My Bible
• My family – My husband and daughters are the most awesome of people and God has blessed me more than I deserve.
• My church – what a great group of people who work tirelessly for over a week to make our Vacation Bible School happen. That song leader who asked the thankful question was also pulling down decorations and storing chairs at 8:30 at night after the program ended. What a servant’s heart!

Sounds like I’m ready for Thanksgiving!

Actually, being thankful should happen every day. That Bible verse says “In everything give thanks.” I can’t be giving thanks in everything if I wait to do it the fourth week of November, now can I?  We can celebrate God’s abundance to us anytime, anywhere. So, I’m ready to celebrate all of God’s goodness TODAY!

What are you thankful for?