We Have a Lot to be Grateful for Every Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, get rid of envy and it will bring great gain...

Envy is the great enemy of thankfulness. We cannot at the same time be jealous of what someone else has and be thankful for what we have. That's why it's so necessary to discipline ourselves to be focused on all the good that is our's, rather than all our unfilled wants.

As you look at your life this Thanksgiving, consider the things that are
truly your's. The warm memories of parents who loved you and raised you.

The sweet experiences of friendships that saw you through difficult
transitions in life. The years of growing deeper in love with your mate.
The decades of love, mercy and grace from our Savior and Lord.

Would you trade any of these for control of a bank, a seat at a cabinet
table, or a good year on the stock exchange? A recent survey done by a
Massachusetts life insurance company revealed that the average person
would rather spend Thanksgiving with his family than be give $1,000 in
cash.

It is a sign of the age that such a question would even be posed. This
Thanksgiving we are grateful. We are grateful for many things. One of
them is that when our daughter Melissa, was seven years old, she was
involved in a serious bicycle accident that left her unconscious. Bob
was with her when it happened and he thought for several minutes while
waiting for help to arrive that she might be dead.

The most wonderful words Bob has ever heard in his life occurred when
she opened her eyes, groggy and dazed, and simply said, "daddy."

We don't care that we're not wealthy.

We don't seem to mind that we drive older used cars.

We're not disturbed that our clothes don't come from Michigan Avenue
in Chicago.

Our daughter, Melissa, is alive. And every time she smiles at us with
her beautiful twenty-four year old grin, we realize we are the richest
people on earth. Not only that, but we have five other beautiful children
and each other as well.

We hope you realize that you have all you need, this very day, to make
you happy. If you're not happy, it's probably because the virus of envy
is at work in your soul. There's a simple antidote for that disease. It's
a Biblical Proverb the early pilgrims lived by, "But godliness with
contentment is great gain (I Timothy 6:6)." This Thanksgiving, take the cure.

by Cheryl and Bob Moeller