With Thanksgiving approaching, I hope your mind is on more than turkey and stuffing and football! I hope it's on family and friends and all the blessings you have in your life. When I was little, we always took the time before Thanksgiving dinner to go around the table and have everyone talk about what we were thankful for. Some years, it was hard to think of anything others wouldn't say first, but I remember some years when I couldn't wait for my turn to share!
"Give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Whether it seems like something easy or hard, gratitude is an important attitude to have, and I'm glad we were taught early on to think about what we appreciated in life and express our thanks. Having an attitude of gratitude can help you when life is rough by reminding you that not everything is bad. Having this attitude also helps you to stay humble when you remember that
"every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17, NIV).
I was thinking about all this recently when I was watching Western classic,
The Sons of Katie Elder, starring John Wayne and Dean Martin. In the movie, four sons come back to their hometown after news that their mother, Katie, has passed away. When they arrive, they slowly find out that their father had been murdered and their mother had sold the family farm to make ends meet, and they begin trying to piece together the mystery of what happened to their family and their home. In the midst of this, there's one scene that particularly stands out to me.
