Being grateful is something more Christians should practice more of the time. We need to be thankful for all of God’s gifts all the time
“Always giving thanks to God, the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Ephesians 5:20
Here is a story about giving thanks:
In 1883, It is said that in New England the Sun didn’t rise! The people awoke to an eerie darkness. They went outside to do their chores in stony silence. No rooster crowed, no birds chirping, none of the usual sounds of a new day. At the very start, people began to gather in small groups to question what was happening, to wonder and discuss what was taking place. Slowly, people began to make their way to the Churches. They say that by twelve noon every Church in New England was filled to overflowing with people on their knees crying out to God. There were cries for mercy, people begging for forgiveness and others confessing their sins. They say that there were few people who didn’t pray the day the Sun didn’t rise. The Churches were full late into the night.
As the next morning neared, great crowds began to gather on the hilltops and the high places near their homes and churches. People were staring toward the eastern horizon. Every eye was fixed on that point where the sky touched the land. Every eye is watching, hoping to catch a glimmer of the first rays of the sun. As the Sun began to come up over the horizon, people began to shout and yell praise to God, they clapped, danced, and rejoiced because the Sun shined on the land again. As if in one voice, they began to praise the Lord for the sunlight, the warmth, and the joy of God’s new day.
They had no idea that on the Island nation of Indonesia, the sleeping giant of a volcano, Krakatoa, had come to life. They had no idea that this great mountain had exploded sending a huge cloud of dust and ash into the upper atmosphere. This black cloud would be carried around the world by the jet stream. It was said to cover whole regions, covering the sky from horizon to horizon. Few people had any idea that a volcano, halfway around the world, could create such a cloud that could block out the Sun. Yet for most of those people that the very first time they ever thanked God for the warmth and wonder of the Sun.
There is so much to be thankful for. God has done so much for us.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.” – Psalms 136:1
Father Bill Wright, Christ Church Walton
