​Learning to Be Thankful

In retirement we have chosen to live in Florida, which is great for the weather but far from our family back during the holidays. So for the last eight years we have packed our car and made our annual pilgrimage and have visited a wide variety of motels along the road. 

On one of those journeys our travel day ended in the middle of nowhere, where we found only two fairly worn-out looking motels. As tired as we were, we didn’t argue about looking for a better place, until we opened the door and discovered a large noisy dehumidifier running in one corner along with an almost equally loud air conditioner in the window. A five-star rating maybe lurked far in the past of that motel. But we unpacked our clothes and determined to make the best of it.

That night I lay in bed a long time complaining inwardly about the accommodations. But in the morning when I made my way to the little breakfast area, I saw the manager working hard in the tiny motel kitchen cooking sausages and eggs. Then I noticed some fresh pieces of fruit and juice in the little fridge and nice hot coffee ready in the pot. Then I began to think of the people who would have been delighted to spend the night next door to our room. Many would have been grateful that no thieves tried breaking in, that there was no gunfire in the street, or that no bombs fell from the sky. Then I remembered the Bible verse that puts things plainly: “Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, CEB).

God hasn’t told us that life would always be what we like, but he has promised always to take care of what we need. In times of abundance God looks to see if we will share with others, and in times of lack God waits to hear if we will still be thankful. Later I left a note for the manager thanking him for taking the time to see that we had a hot breakfast. As I drove home, I realized that God had given me a lesson on thankfulness in our musty hotel room that I needed to remember at Thanksgiving at a table filled with food and surrounded by our family.