Thanksgiving is quickly approaching – a time when we turn again to the One from whom “all our blessings flow.” More than any other holiday, thanksgiving asks us to look inward, because real gratitude is not dependent on our circumstances, but on our attitude. My favorite Thanksgiving reading comes from the poet Henry Ward Beecher, who wrote:
“If one should give me a dish of sand, and tell me there were particles of iron in it, I might look for them with my clumsy fingers, and be unable to detect them; but let me take a magnet, and sweep through it, and it would draw to itself the most invisible particles. The unthankful heart, like my finger in the sand, discovers no mercies; but the let the thankful heart sweep through the day, and as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find some heavenly blessings.”
I love the image of a “thankful heart” sweeping through the day, collecting blessings, constantly aware of God’s mercies, and praising God for the wonder of this life. Indeed, that is the thanksgiving I wish for you as we celebrate another Thanksgiving holiday and continually praise God for his blessings. See you in worship!