Thanksgiving in the Days of Obama – from Us to You, our Readers

By Elizabeth Nelson

We've all seen those mornings when we look at our alarm clock and groan, knowing that some days, it’s easy to get up, be thankful for everything we’ve been blessed with and see that glass as half full.  Then there are those mornings when we make the dreadful mistake of turning on the television, catch the censored and bipartisan spun news, only to catch the latest Obama scandal or promise he’s broken. 

Then we stumble to the bathroom, look at our reflection in the mirror and remind ourselves that we are to “extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lip”; (Psalm 34:1) because we know when we “give thanks in everything” (I Thess 5:18) we position ourselves under the spout where the blessings come out.

As we gather around the table this Thanksgiving with our families or our family of friends, may we all remember the many blessings that we are thankful for, instead of the many political sorrows and changes that this day brings us, that weren't here when we were children and gathering around the table and feasts in days gone by....

Norman Rockwell: Freedom From Want (1943)

If we woke up this morning and can breathe, we have something to be thankful for; 1 in 12 people have asthma and struggle to breath.

If we woke up, looked next to the bed, saw our Bible next to it and have plans to go to church Sunday to openly worship and sing praises to our living Savior, we have something to be thankful for because, every five minutes, somewhere in the world, a Christian is put to death because of their faith.

If we woke up and could see what time it said on the alarm clock, we have something to be thankful for; 285 million people are estimated to be visually impaired worldwide: 39 million are blind and 246,000 have low or correctable vision.

If we heard the alarm clock this morning, we have something to be thankful for;, about 2 to 4 of every 1,000 people in the United States are "functionally deaf," though more than half became deaf relatively late in life; fewer than 1 out of every 1,000 people in the United States became deaf before 18 years of age, and anywhere from 37 to 140 out of every 1,000 people in the United States have some kind of hearing loss, with a large share being at least 65 years old.

If we woke up to a full-time job, we have something to be thankful for; According to Labor of Bureau and Statistics U6 rate sits at 13.8% with 11.3 million unemployed, 2.4 million being marginally attached to the labor force, for economic reasons, and more than 815,000 are discouraged workers not able to find work.

 

So, we must all remember to count our blessings this Thanksgiving, regardless of our turkey President. No matter what this Empiric Administration throws at us or how low we may fee at times. As Job found out, and his example shows us, sometimes the lowest spot is the best place to find ourselves, because there’s only one way to go from there, and only one way to look; up.