ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”
1 Chronicles 16:34
by Elaine Hall
As I reflect on this season of appreciation, I recall the testimony of a petite missionary lady who spoke at Trinity Church several years ago.
Living amid the poorest of the poor, she and her sister shared a small dirt-floor hut near the jungle in a third-world country. Despite hardship and lack, she was grateful for the humble shelter that protected them from the harsh sun and torrential rains and for the opportunity to demonstrate God’s love and win souls to Jesus.
One day as the sisters returned from a visit to a nearby village, they came across something hidden in a clearing of underbrush thick with bananas trees. The object was so amazing; they danced around like kids on Christmas morning. Dragging their found treasure to their tiny thatch-roofed home, they placed upon the earthen floor what would protect them from the rocky soil. They would no longer have to sleep directly on the ground.
The prize about which they were so excited? A wavy piece of corrugated sheet metal.
The missionary shared other stores of God’s goodness and how grateful she was of how well He took care of her and her sister. Ashamed of my complaints about trivial things, my eyes filled with tears. This little lady was thankful for getting her most basic of needs met; a thatched roof, food in her belly, and nearby water. The vast differences between the advantages and possessions of most of us and her was a sucker punch to my heart.
We Americans stumble out of our comfy beds each morning, flip on the shower, then check the water temperature until it’s warmed to Goldilocks’ just right. The missionary sang praises for the Lord’s mercy for the old corrugated metal that served as her mattress. We have a thermostat to heat or cool our homes, businesses and cars. She labors under the sweltering sun to harvest, then prepare special food and herbs for a sick, elderly woman abandoned by her family.
We open double-door refrigerators and stare at the food as we contemplate cooking a three-course dinner or just heating last night’s leftovers in the microwave. At the end of her day of serving others, the missionary and her sister gather wood to start an open fire to cook their meal of a few scrawny vegetables the wild animals didn’t get to first.
We turn on the tap to fill our glass and from which the utility companies have removed germs and chemicals to make the water safe to drink. She leaves her corrugated-metal bed before sunrise to make the long walk to a stream of questionably-clean water and the awkward, heavy load she must carry back to her hut.
We remove our laundry, fresh from the washing machine and throw it in the dryer, come back later and hang the items in a walk-in closet. In the rainy season, she beseeches God to hold back a storm during her long walk to a river to wash her few items of well-worn clothing.
We complain of cranky, arthritic knees, but a couple of ibuprofen from the medicine cabinet soothe the pain. The shortage of healthcare workers and a lack of affordable services make a visit to a miles-away doctor or pharmacy a rare luxury.
We choose which religion, where we worship and what time we attend church without fear of being assaulted for our beliefs. Rogue soldiers, AK-47 rifles slung over their shoulders, sometimes force the missionaries to flee their home. The sisters hide in the jungle from their enemies’, whose faces are grim with purpose and rage, as they hunt down innocent souls to murder for their faith.
Separated by continents, race, religion and social status, we are united in worshiping the same God and His Son. Yet which of us is more grateful? The missionary who has worn prayer callouses on her knees thanking God for her daily bread? Or we, who are so busy with the things of this world that prayer time is done on the run, waiting in the school pick up line, or stopping long enough to respond to the pastor’s plea to, “Let us bow our heads”?
Luke 12:48 admonishes: “For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required.” Then 1 Corinthians 4:7 asks us: “What do you have that God has not given you?” The missionary’s gifts of selflessness didn’t include any mention of money. Though in need of essentials herself, she freely offered everything she had. Since our lives, our children, our homes, our possessions already belong to God, shouldn’t we give out of our own abundance?
Shelter.
Food.
Water.
Clothing.
Friendship.
Prayer.
Time.
Talent.
Love.
And the greatest Gift of all; a lost soul’s salvation from our introduction of him or her to Christ the King.
No Comments