Last week our Positive Thinking blogger, Amy Wong, wrote about the concept of giving thanks for blessings not yet received… in fact for blessings not yet known. In other words, your life is sure to be filled with good things you can scarcely imagine now, so why not give thanks in advance?
She illustrated her point with a Native American proverb and a reference to Norman Vincent Peale, who believed that thanking God for the future engendered gratitude in the present, and that grateful people are happy people. As usual Amy supported her view with studies and statistics.
Usually I write and post my blog on Fridays but this being Thanksgiving week, Guideposts is closed on Friday. So I am writing this on Wednesday for a Friday posting. That got me thinking about Amy’s blog. What things can I be grateful for today that I won’t necessarily know until Friday? In other words, how much do I trust in God?
Well, let’s see: I am certainly grateful for the wonderful (but quiet) Thanksgiving feast I had with Julee and our Golden, Millie. I am thankful that we didn’t go back for thirds and overeat and end up groaning on the couch like beached whales. I am thankful for once that I didn’t get indigestion and that Millie did not sneak a piece (or three) of turkey while Daddy was busy yelling at little men running around with a ball on the TV screen.
In further respect of the above, I give thanks for the Detroit Lions’ victory on Thanksgiving Day though I know this is hopeless.
I am thankful we were blessed with perfect weather for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade despite the fact that I read an article that said we are running out of helium and that inflating Ronald McDonald is a waste of a precious resource (can’t we have any fun anymore?).
I am thankful for peace in the Middle East, however and whenever it comes, so that children stop dying and mothers stop grieving, and men who should know better stop killing.
I am thankful for all of the people (and maybe I’ll be one of them) who helped feed those displaced by Hurricane Sandy. I am grateful for our ongoing support for the victims of this terrible storm and all natural and manmade disasters to come.
I am thankful that Friday is another perfect day to do whatever comes my way.
By the way, I know you all had a great Thanksgiving.
P.S. If you’d like to read and hear more from Norman Vincent Peale about positive thinking, download our new app to your iPhone.
And if you’d like to read about mysterious blessings and amazing answers to prayer—those stories you love that send a chill down your spine and put a tear in your eye—check out our exciting new magazine, Mysterious Ways.
And I am grateful (in advance, of course) for your support.
