A MONTH FULL OF GRATITUDE
Commentary 
Courtesy of Bill Ellis
Syndicated columnist

I have heard that November is the “cloudiest” month of the year.  Clouds and gray skies often bring a sense of                                   despondency to many                             people. It gets dark                                  early. Not a lot of                                     sunshine that we can                                  see and yet without it                                 we would be in total
darkness.

Some people are                                   discouraged because                                  they or their political                                party lost an election. 
And it cost a lot of                                  money to lose.                                      Others are euphoric                                 because they won.                                      High school and                                      college students will                                     be “singing the blues”                               because their team did not win the championship or make it into the playoffs.  Some will be “on cloud nine”, wherever that may be, because their team was the one left after the final game.

November may be a month of gray skies and disappointments, but it is also a month when we express our gratitude in a myriad of ways.  On the first Sunday of the month I was thankful that we could look forward to voting for the candidates of choice. What a privilege! On the second Sunday the political season was over for at least a few months. What a relief!

What do we really have to be thankful for?  I am deeply grateful for many things.  These few are underscored this week.
 

1. AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE. 

I am thankful that I am thankful.  Life would certainly be miserable if we had nothing for which to be thankful. Daily, I express my gratitude for the day itself, remembering on waking, “This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

2. A FAMILY TO LOVE. 

I thank God for a beautiful, intelligent and loving wife and two children, Elizabeth and Mark, who are remarkably talented and good, and Steve, our son-in-law.  We love our five grandchildren.  There are also brothers and sisters, cousins, nieces and nephews.  Daily we thank God for our family.

Through Christ, and the new birth, we are members of the family of God -- a large and extended family “of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Ephesians 3:15).

3. FRIENDS TO CHERISH. 

I have some friends where I live whom I have known most of my life. Charles Filbin of St. Albans, and I played together before we started to school. Everyday I try to meet at least one new friend. All will be friends to some degree.  What a priceless gift! Friends forever!

4. THINGS TO DO. 

I find so many things to do each day that I never get them all done.  I am blessed with privileges for which I am held responsible.  The word of God teaches “ . . . every one of us shall give an account of himself to God.”  (Romans 14:12).  I am responsible for my conduct.  I cannot blame anyone else.

5. THANKFUL FOR GOD! 

Thank God that we may know Him.  “And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments . . . we know that we are in Him” (I John 2:3,5).  Be thankful that God does not have to be a stranger. We can all, if we choose, know Him and His redeeming love.

November is a month of Thanksgiving.  We may write down each day what we are thankful for.  We will be surprised that we may find more than 30 things for which to be thankful. I hope you enjoy this entire month of gratitude.

William Shakespeare defined gratitude as “The exchequer of the poor.” Being thankful for what one does have is like money in the bank. Our sense of gratitude can help us through difficult times. The truly thankful person does not have to have everything.


© 2008 Wm. C. Ellis
All Rights Reserved

Bill Ellis
Award Winning Syndicated Columnist
P.O. Box 345
Scott Depot, WV 25560
304.757.6089
www.BillEllis.Net