From Across the Room

The slam of the truck door. The brisk half-walk, half-run through the parking lot. Opening the door to the Catfish Hole. "Will there be 2?" "Five, actually." "Okay, right this way." I pull out the chair closest to the wall.

Hush puppies, green tomato relish, and cole slaw are all set on the table. After I've consumed two of the hush puppies from the bowl, I look up and see her. One of the waitresses. Straight blonde hair in a messy bun. She finally swept to our table and refilled all of our drinks without a word, then with a huff she slipped away as fast as she came. We all looked at each other and shrugged, wondering what her deal was.

As she came back a few minutes later to refill our hush puppies, I looked back up at her and smiled. There seemed to be a hint of gratefulness in her eyes, and she actually smiled back. The few times she came back to our table, she seemed more friendly towards us.

This made me think: I have to wonder how many of us actually convey our gratitude to the people who serve us, and even if we do, do we really mean it?

Thanksgiving is coming up, and we all know we're supposed to be thankful for what we've been blessed with. Ironically, we have a "holiday" the day right after, where we wait in lines for hours so we can push and shove each other in stores in order to buy all this stuff that we think we NEED to have. America is a pretty stinking rich country; if you look at the world around us, most don't have half of the stuff we do.

Does anyone else see anything wrong with this?

This is convicting to me because if all of my stuff were taken away, all of my electronics, other comforts, my money, my car, my own room, etc... Would I still be thankful for what little I had left?

One of the pastors at church yesterday, Steve Barthelemy, preached on Psalm 100. Verses 1-4 are full of commands: 1. Make a joyful noise, 2. Serve the Lord with gladness, 3. Know that the Lord is God, and 4. Enter His gates with thanksgiving (give thanks). Following those verses in v.5, we are given the reason for these commands: "For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations." God is good all of the time, no matter the circumstance we are given, and that is reason enough to give our thanks to Him. Even if we are in the midst of any sort of trial, especially if we are in some sort of trial, we are to give thanks to God for what He has blessed us with: as believers, we have been saved by grace through faith alone.

Thankfulness is a bigger thing than we might think it to be. Without it, how do you think we would react to the gift of salvation that we have been given through Christ?

We are commanded to be thankful to God ultimately, but we should also convey our gratitude for those in everyday life that serve us. Even if that person wipes off tables at a restaurant or teaches our least favorite class, even if their job seems insignificant, it can completely change someone's day to merely thank them for even the smallest or most humbling of jobs.

Now, finish your classes and go hang out with your family; and genuinely thank them for who they are and what they've done in your life! I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving holiday/break. :)