A Reason for Gratitude

 

"It's getting a little cold for me,"  my patient said.  "I don't really like it when the temperature gets below 75 degrees."

"I guess it is getting a little chilly," I said.  Truthfully, I'm not usually bothered till the temperature stays below single digits for a week or two.

"It sure is!"  The older lady was warming to her dissertation on dropping temperatures.  "All I want to do mornings these days is stay under the covers."

"Well," I said.  "Thanksgiving is next week."

"I guess it's normal for the temperature to go down this time of year," she said with a sigh.  "It was colder than this when I was a girl, but somehow I dealt better then."

I actually hadn't meant that it was normal for the temperature to get cooler in November, although of course, depending on your latitude, it is quite usual.  I had meant for her to consider the fact that it is the time of year where we should indulge in excessive gratitude.

I have been thinking about the story of Ruth in the Bible lately.  Naomi left the town of Bethlehem with a husband and two sons.  She returned, some ten years later, having attended the funerals of the three people she loved most.

I suppose it is not surprising that when she returned, she told the townspeople of Bethlehem to call her "Mara," or bitter.  "I went away full," she said.  "|And I have returned empty."  Naomi had left more than her heart in the land of Moab.

At the same moment, Naomi still had much for which to be grateful.  For one thing, she had a jewel of a daughter-in-law (Ruth) who had committed to caring for Naomi, come what may.  More than that, Naomi was serving a God who was guiding her steps, even in her darkest hours.

By the end of the book, Naomi's heart and arms are once more filled with unexpected joy because of the birth of Ruth's first son, Obed.  It all happened because of God's faithfulness.  If there is a message in the book of Ruth, it is that God uses all things in our lives, even the things we struggle most with. 

Maybe the key to thankful living is realizing this simple fact.  If we can only remember that Someone who loves us is caring for us, we can have a spirit of gratitude, whatever trials we face.

Even if we happen to live in days when the high temperatures are in the 40s.