CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – I’ve heard hundreds of sermons. Many are forgettable. This one was not.
The minister at the Syracuse University chapel asked, “Is a fish thankful for water?” The answer: “probably not”. It’s taken for granted. Certainly the fish’s perspective changes immediately if they are hooked and pulled out of it.
Are humans thankful for air? Without it, we couldn’t breathe.
We are surrounded by God’s blessings, many of which we don’t even think about. “Your good works surround me, Lord. Help me to be thankful when I’m not.”
On Sunday nights at college, our minister hosted dinner at his house. A group of 12 or 15 of us would attend. And we appreciated the meal. Dining halls were open only for brunch on Saturday and were closed on Sunday. As we finished eating we were invited to share one thing about our week: a challenge or struggle, a personal success, or, frequently, something we were thankful for.
Her name was Joy. It was obvious that she came from a poor family. She didn’t dress as well as other students. She never had any extra money. But she was always at church, and always at Sunday dinner. And as we would go around the table to talk about our week, she would often say “help me to be thankful when I’m not.”
One day walking back to campus Joy explained how frustrating it was to be the poorest person among an affluent student-body. College kids at an expensive private school would wait for their families to send them money, or they’d get use of their parent’s credit card. She’d get none of that. She talked about sneaking granola bars and oranges out of the dining hall to stock up for weekends. There would never be spring break trips to Bermuda or semesters abroad in London. During some school breaks, she didn’t have bus fare back to Baltimore. And all of that weighed on her.
And amid all that frustration, Joy said attending college was an incredible blessing. She would get a degree, and then a career. She would not be a maid like her mother, or in jail like her father. She’d escape the drug dealing and the addiction that swallowed up her brothers. She would not be like her younger sister, who already had a child and was expecting a second. Almost everyone she knew was in grinding poverty. She had an opportunity for something better.
She wanted to let go of the frustrations of granola bars, and cheap clothes, used textbooks, and not having a living allowance from mommy and daddy, or a ride home. Something so much better was waiting for her when she finished school.
I have times of frustration. I’m sure you do too. Even when those feelings overwhelm us, try to remember that God’s blessings are so bountiful that we can’t even count them all. Help us to be thankful when we’re not.
Chris Conley
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