Even in the season of Thanksgiving, we can forget precious blessings from God. This week, when I read an email from a friend, I realized my gratitude list needed work.
In the email, our friends, Chip and Susie, requested prayer and shared news of Will, their friend who’d been bedridden since January 2—for ten long months.
One illness had led to another until Will was too weak after hospitalization to make the required progress for admittance into rehab. He believed he’d never walk again.
Hannah, Will’s wife, cared for him the best she could and called for medical transport when appointments were necessary.
Sad to see his friend incapacitated, Chip prayed and studied YouTube videos. He then asked if he could try to help. First, he carefully lifted Will into a wheelchair and pushed him down the sidewalk to visit neighbors.
Hannah, his wife, stood on the grass and watched Will draw in deep breaths of fresh air and throw his head back to gaze into the sky. When she watched neighbors come outside to greet her husband and heard his laughter and lively conversation, joy tears trickled down her cheeks.
The blessings?
- Fresh air.
- A change of scenery—from four walls to the crimson reds, fiery oranges, and sunny yellows of fall
- The sound of birds chirping and a dog barking
- The welcoming smiles of friends and jovial laughter
I’m quite sure Will and Hannah thanked God for those blessings—the blessings we tend to forget.
Would you like to hear more good news? After continued prayer and study, Chip is helping Will learn to walk again.
Will takes small steps and only a few at a time, but with determination and the hope of acceptance into rehab, he believes he will walk again. As he makes painstaking progress, Hannah observes from across the room where she claps and smiles through teary eyes.
After reading Susie’s email, I walked outside and took deep breaths of crisp fall air, then I thanked God I could walk, breathe fresh air, and hear the crunch of fallen leaves under my feet.
I also thanked Him I could serve as the hands and feet of Jesus as Chip and Susie did.
During this season of Thanksgiving, my gratitude list will be a little longer. What about yours?
Let’s express our thanks to God through His Word for the blessings we remember and the ones we forget to notice.
Let’s express our thanks to God through His Word for the blessings we remember and the ones we forget to notice. Share on X
Let’s thank Him and praise Him for who He is.
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Psalm 95:1-3 NKJV
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
Let’s thank Him …
For His goodness and His mercy.
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34 NKJV
For this day He has made.
This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24 NKJV
For salvation in Christ, a free gift to all who surrender to Jesus Christ our Lord.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 NKJV
