Thankfulness

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever."
-Psalm 136:1
      Today is Thanksgiving, and I want to talk about being thankful. Last year I talked about giving thanks for the things we have, because things will not last forever. Today I want to talk about another reason we should be thankful, but first, I want to share a story.
      Recently I have developed a kind of obsession with basketball. I used to really like playing football, soccer, volleyball and ping pong, but I never really played a lot of basketball. Over the past couple months though, I got hooked. Basketball is a lot of fun, and I've played it so much recently. I am a fairly athletic guy, and I'm tall as well, so I would say that makes basketball a little more fun for me. Being tall and athletic, I enjoy being able to have a good vertical leap and being able to touch the rim. Well, touching the rim is nice, but one thing I really wanted to do is dunk the ball (of course). I've been able to dunk the ball a couple times, but only barely.
      The past couple weeks have been disappointing for me. About three or four weeks ago I sprained my ankle playing basketball, and I had to stop playing to let my ankle heal. A week ago I played again, but this time my knees started to hurt to the point where even walking up stairs hurt, much less playing basketball. Every time I try playing basketball or engaging in any physical activity, my knees start to kill me. This is a true bummer.
      Why tell this story? Because this situation made me think. I could choose be bitter and sour about my ankle and knees hurting so much. However, no one likes to interact with bitter people, and being bitter affects your thinking. You tend to be depressed and angry, and have a negative outlook on things. I decided that this is not how I want to be, and reminded by Thanksgiving today, I decided to be thankful. Thankful for what, my bad knees? No, of course not. I am thankful for the times that I could play basketball. Thankful for my life, family, home, food, water, friends, school, country, computer, church, my good health, and last but not least, for Jesus.
      Being thankful is a choice. People may say that their situation is so bad that there is nothing they can be thankful for, but you can still choose to be thankful. Why be thankful? Being thankful gives you a different perspective on life. You start to realize all the things that you have, and you become more positive about yourself and about life. Your attitude changes as well. You are more appreciative and aren't always angry and bitter about things. Last year I talked about givings thanks for things that you can't keep forever. Today I propose something else; give thanks for something that will last. I always look at Jesus when I look for an example of how I should live. In Luke 22:19, Jesus is about to give the Lord's supper, and He takes the bread. What does He do beforehand? He gives thanks. Even though He is the Lord of everything, He still gives thanks for the bread He is about to eat with His disciples. Jesus gave us an example of thankfulness, and He also gave us something to be thankful for, which will never end; His love.
-Smart