Seize the Holiday by Byron Ware

    I believe a lot of Americans think of Thanksgiving as a November weekend of feast and football. Yes, I have been guilty of living that belief in years past. The older I become and the more cemeteries I stand in, the more I realize how precious time is. This can be another self-absorbed holiday or you can seize it and thank all those that have blessed your life.

    A friend of mine realizes how precious time is; his dad is dying of cancer. This dad made some mistakes as a father, but he is trying to make peace with his ex-wife, his grown children, and others. The really sad part is that one daughter has rejected the pleas to make peace with her father. There are many sad people who miss those opportunities to say “thank you” and then when they want to, it’s too late.

    An incident with Jesus reminds of how ungrateful we can be sometimes. Jesus heals ten men of the horrible disease of leprosy.

“One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him - and he was a Samaritan.”

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?”

    With prosperity it becomes very hard to be truly thankful. When we have so much, we begin to expect it for ourselves. These expectations also begin to creep into our marriages. We begin to expect certain things from our mates instead of being thankful for the “gaps” they fill in our lives and the many joys we would miss without them.

How do you say thanks?

    When was the last time you told your spouse how very thankful you were for them? I know a man whose wife died in the last couple of years. He told one of my buddies, “You don’t appreciate your wife enough.” What he was trying to say was, “You need to be more thankful for all your wife does for you — I appreciate it now that my wife is gone.”

    So, how do you say thanks?

    One great way to say “thanks” is by serving someone that has helped you. Rub that back, do those dishes, go that extra mile. There are roses, cards, gifts, and about a million different ways. That spouse of yours has probably done things for you that you do not even know about. How about making this “Spouse Thanksgiving Month.” Find a way every week of November to thank your spouse for something they do for you.

    I am so blessed to have a wonderful Christian wife! I’m going to try this “Spouse Thanksgiving Month” out during November, and I will let you know how it went. How about you? Try it, and e-mail me with how it went and what you did to show your thankfulness.

    Most importantly, don’t be like the “ungrateful nine,” those nine lepers that forgot to come thank Jesus for healing them. God has blessed you in so many ways. Count the ways he has helped you this year and earnestly thank the One who sends those blessings your way. And whatever you do this Thanksgiving, don’t let this precious time go by without seizing this holiday and telling that special person how thankful you are for what they have done for you!

HEARTLIGHT(R) Magazine is a ministry of loving Christians and the Westover Hills church of Christ.
Edited by Phil Ware and Paul Lee.
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