A Thanksgiving Acrostic

My longtime friend Roger Lovette, retired pastor of First Baptist in Clemson, South Carolina, in his blog, "Head and Heart," recently quoted two lines from a couplet about two men in prison:   

Two men looked out from prison bars—

One saw the mud, the other saw stars.

At Thanksgiving, if things look muddy, I pray you and I will be able to lift our sights from the mud and see the stars. Here is my personal list of reasons for giving thanks:

“T” is for “Today”:

Psalm 118:24 — This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

It’s the only day we have.   The title character in Broadway’s Mame sings, “It may not be anyone’s birthday, and though it’s far from the first of the year, We know that this very minute has history in it: We’re here!”

“H” is for “Hope”:

Hope looks beyond today. Christian Hope looks beyond this life. One of three abiding virtues, with faith and love.

“A” is for “Ancestors”:

A cousin in Mississippi traced my mother’s family back to the Northampton district of England in 1601 to a man named William Hollowell.  I am in the 12th generation of descendants from Grandfather William Hollowell.  I’m glad someone went to the trouble to trace my origins back that far.

“N” is for “Nourishment”:

When we think of this season, one of the first things we think about is tables of abundant food.  .  .  .  [H]e has not left himself without a witness in doing good—giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.’ (Acts 14:17).

“K” is for “Kids”:

Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4) and then trust the ultimate outcome to God.

“S” is for “Senses”:

At Thanksgiving, we appreciate smell and taste and touch as we enjoy abundant meals.  We use sight to look at dear friends and relatives, the sense of sound to hear those we call in far-off places. 

G” is for “Grace”:

A word with many meanings:  Describing women, with poise and dignity.  Prayer before meals.  Kindness when a person has done nothing to deserve it — a “Grace Period” for paying a bill or turning in a class report. And don’t forget God’s grace:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.

“I” is for “Income”:

Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gained me this wealth.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth .  .  .  (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).

“V” is for “Values”:

Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law does he meditate day and night.

Abraham Lincoln spoke of “the better angels of our nature.”

“I” is for “Identity”:

I’m proud of my identity as one of the sons of Travis and Vandelia Webb. I am also proud of my identity as a child of God:

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God (1 John 3).

“N” is for “Nation”:

I love my country, despite our many prejudices and inequalities. 

Someone said, “My country — right or wrong.” Someone else said, “My country, right or wrong — when wrong, to make her right.”

“G” is for “God”

.  .  .  From whom all blessings flow .  .  .