Plenty to Be Thankful For

It’s the time of year when Christmas movies begin to beckon our attention, and I’m wondering if you’ve ever watched “Holiday Inn.” For a lighthearted evening, it’s one of our family favorites. Irving Berlin wrote twelve songs for the 1942 film, including the best-selling single of all time, “White Christmas.” (The “White Christmas” quasi-remake movie followed in 1954, but the setting was changed to Vermont.)

Back to “Holiday Inn” … Jim Hardy, played by Bing Crosby, has given up the world of show business  to work on his Connecticut farm. He converts the farm into a country inn, open only for holidays. As Jim goes through his first year at the Holiday Inn, there’s a song for each season, and the music figures prominently into his life experiences. When Thanksgiving rolls around, Jim is thoroughly depressed. The inn is closed, and Jim barely touches his Thanksgiving dinner. (Don’t worry, there’s a happy Hollywood ending after all.)

All that to say, the film’s song for Thanksgiving is “I’ve Got Plenty to Be Thankful For.” It tends to get lost in the movie’s zaniness, but here you go …

“I’ve got plenty to be thankful for
I haven’t got a great big yacht
To sail from shore to shore
Still I’ve got plenty to be thankful for
I’ve got plenty to be thankful for
No private car, no caviar
No carpet on my floor
Still I’ve got plenty to be thankful for”

Literally hundreds of times, the Bible exhorts us to be thankful. An attitude of continual thankfulness doesn’t come naturally, but it’s a key part of our calling in Christ. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). I’m just starting to understand that thanksgiving is our heartfelt acknowledgment that the things which Christ has done for us are true and real. It’s a heart posture of “Amen” to the things of God. It’s a humble acknowledgment that God always has our best interests at heart, so we are free to thank Him for everything – and to mean it.

The “original thanksgiving” in Plymouth followed a terrible year – humanly speaking – and untold amounts of loss. Many Pilgrims had died from hunger and disease, but that didn’t stop the praise to God. The first “national thanksgiving” dates back to 1777, while the British still occupied Philadelphia, New York, and other cities. But hard times didn’t thwart the thanks, prayer, and celebration. So it’s no surprise that the Civil War sealed the deal. President Lincoln proclaimed the first “official thanksgiving” at a time that was nothing less than desperate. Sisters and brothers, America’s “Thanksgiving” was born out of hardship. My point is that thanksgiving is our high calling – no matter what.

Maybe you tend to hop in your morning shower with less than a hop. Perhaps you feel tired, grumpy, or irritated by the fact that a thousand responsibilities are already calling your name. It’s the perfect time to start thanksgiving … thank the Lord for the hot running water … thank Him for the soap … thank Him for the towel. Next, it might be a good idea to thank God for the bathroom. Before you know it, you’ll be thanking Him for your socks and shoes and house and family. That’s how Thanksgiving works. It works on us.

Thank Him for everything, large and small …

“I’ve got eyes to see with, ears to hear with
Arms to hug with, lips to kiss with
Someone to adore
How could anybody ask for more?
My needs are small, I buy ‘em all
At the five- and ten-cent store
Oh, I’ve got plenty to be thankful for”

I like that song from the inn. But my favorite Thanksgiving song doesn’t come from a movie. Folliott Sandford Pierpoint penned it in 1864, and my favorite verse is this one, directed to Jesus …

“For Yourself, best gift divine,
To the world so freely given,
Agent of God’s grand design:
Peace on earth and joy in heaven.
Christ, our Lord, to You we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise!”

I’m thankful for a Savior and King who’s more into grace than I could ever imagine.

I’m thankful that I don’t have to run the universe.

I’m thankful for a job, and the joy of a hard-day’s work.

I’m thankful that God made bacon taste so good – on anything, in anything, or all by itself – and that it tastes even better when it gets just a little bit burned.

I’m thankful for my favorite songs, and that some of them still make me want to dance.

I’m thankful for the warm sun on my back.

I’m thankful for the preschoolers who roam the hallways outside my office.

I’m thankful for the family photos hanging above my computer screen.

I’m thankful for the semi-sweet iced tea sitting on my desk.

I’m thankful for more than six decades of life.

I’m thankful for more friends than I ever deserved.

I’m thankful for the chance to pen a few sentences today, and to share them with you.

I’ve got plenty to be thankful for!

Pastor Charles