Thankful Thoughts

I have enjoyed writing about radioisotope dating these past few weeks, and I still have much more information to share here about it, but because yesterday was Thanksgiving , and because I believe that this is a very important topic, we will deviate briefly from the Clue series.  Gratefulness can have an enormous impact on our daily lives.  It helps us realize just how blessed we really are.  Everyone has blessing – many blessings – but few people recognize this.  Learning to be grateful for what we have is worth far more than a world of treasures, because the attitude of gratitude can last throughout eternity: possessions will not.

When people think of their blessings, they typically think of family, freedom, jobs, and houses.  Those are all incredible blessings, yet we have so much more to be thankful for – everyone does, even if they don’t have family, freedom, jobs, or houses.  Have you ever thought of being thankful for the atmosphere?  Not only does God use the intricately designed atmospheric system to give us the breath of life constantly, but He also uses it to protect us from harmful Ultraviolet rays with the ozone layer, provides relatively clean rainwater to grow our food, clouds that regulate earth’s temperature, transparency for studying God’s extraterrestrial handiwork, and even striking beauty for our enjoyment in the sunrises and sunsets.  Yet, we take all of this (and much more) for granted.  I love science because I can learn so much about God’s care for us through it.  It also gives me reminders of how blessed I am in the things I take for granted.

In closing, I’d like to offer a challenge to you – this Thanksgiving season try being thankful for something that you don’t like.  Yes, I know it sounds convoluted, but God uses the uncomfortable or bad things in our lives for good.  Not only that, but He also suffers with us when we are in pain.  Try thanking Him for it; He is doing it because He loves you.  Always remember that all things will work together for good to those that love Him.  Two of the things I’m immensely grateful for this year are that 1) I didn’t get to go to Kentucky this summer (even though I was practically dying to go) and 2) That I am not going to Texas Tech for college this fall.  Although these things seemed to go against what I thought was God’s best for my life, God has provided amazing opportunities to do things beyond my wildest dreams because of these things.  Trust God and thank Him for His incredible gifts this Thanksgiving!