A Lesson in Thanksgiving

[DianaB]

This is a true story that's in my Sunday School paper.

It was Thanksgiving Day. But instead of thinking of the Lord and all He had done for me, I was feeling sorry for myself. I was far from home and family, and I kept remembering longingly the Thanksgiving Days of the past.

It was also Thursday. I usually visited various people at the hospital every Thursday evening. So I went. Furman would be expecting me.

Furman--What a special person he was! I had met him on my first visit to the hospital. I believed that God wanted me to visit patients there every week. A nurse had given me the names of several I could see.

After I had read Scripture to one elderly woman and had prayed with her, a man in a wheelchair approached and begged me to read the Bible to him. He had difficulty holding up his large head, and his body was wasted and bent. How could I resist ministering to this imploring, hungering soul?

During the months that followed. I learned how much Furman loved the Lord Jesus and loved hearing the Word of God. How grateful Furman was for my visits!

That Thanksgiving evening I found Furman in a darkened visiting room off the foyer. As I peered through the darkness, I saw him sitting in his wheelchair, his head held up expectantly. "Hello, Furman," I said. "Happy Thanksgiving! What are you doing sitting here alone in the dark room?"

"I am counting my blessings, Mrs. Larson," he answered. "The Lord has been so good to me. I have so much to be thankful for--my sister who works hard so I can stay in this fine hospital, for the wonderful nurses and doctors who are so kind and thoughtful, and for friends like you. And for my Savior who loves me and will someday take me to heaven, where I will have a good, straight body like His!"

Tears filled my eyes. How ashamed I was! Not once did Furman mention the pain that his body had given him almost daily for the past 40 years.

As I left the hospital that night, I knew why God had sent me there. It was to teach me the spirit of true thanksgiving. I learned the power of I Thessalonians 5:18. "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus". (NIV)

I hope that each of you, my friends, have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you take a moment and thank God for his many blessings.

[judy]

That is just beautiful. Thank you.

[Gina]

Yes beautiful it made me cry.