Pastor Steve May had a college professor who shared about a gratitude exercise he often used. The professor said, “From the time you wake up, till you leave for work, there are at least one hundred things you can thank God for. When you wake up, you can thank God you slept on a bed, with a pillow for your head and a blanket to keep you warm.”
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The pastor continued, “You can thank God you slept under a roof and not under the elements. You can thank God you have electricity to light and heat your home. You can thank God you have running water, a refrigerator that keeps things cold and a stove to cook your food. Indoor plumbing, hot showers, fresh towels, the list goes on and on.”
Taking inventory
When we pause to take inventory of our blessings, our “thankful list” can go on and on, also. Despite life’s disasters, we can always find something for which to be thankful.
When Bible commentator Matthew Henry was robbed, how did he respond?
“Let me be thankful, first, because he never robbed me before. Second, because, although he took my purse, he did not take my life. Third, because although he took all I possessed, it was not much. Fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”
Presbyterian minister Benjamin Weir served in Lebanon for 30 years. On May 8, 1984, a terrorist group grabbed him off a Beirut sidewalk while walking with his wife. The abductors forced him to the floor of a car and rushed him off to captivity.
The terrorists held him for 16 months, 12 of which were spent in solitary confinement, along with six other Americans. Weir was released on September 14, 1985, after 495 days.
Shortly after his release, reporters asked him how he spent his time and how he dealt with boredom and despair.
Weir answered, “Counting my blessings.”
“Blessings?”
“Yes. Some days I got to take a shower. Sometimes there were vegetables in my food. And I could always be thankful for the love of my family.”
Daily, Weir found something for which to be grateful. Do we?
Top items among 2025 list
This year, my “hundred things” include:
- My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
- My beautiful family
- 45 years of marriage to my wonderful wife
- Getting to spend more time with my 98-year-old mom
- The joy of baptizing my middle school granddaughter
- Retirement and the flexible schedule I’m enjoying
- My first trip to Braves Spring training, which I hope becomes an annual thing
- Serving in my first transitional pastorate and helping this church family
- Bumping into friends on my grocery store runs
- Breakfasts and lunches with good friends
- Getting to read more books
- Early morning jogs
- Dark chocolate, lemon Oreos and Tootsie Rolls
- Our annual trip to the beach, and occasional trips to the mountains
- North Georgia apples and brilliant Fall colors
- Getting to write this column, the papers that publish it, and the readers who read it
- College football and cheering for the Georgia Bulldogs
- Fresh vegetables in the summertime
- God’s goodness
These blessings just scratch the surface of a list that could run well beyond one hundred. What’s on your list?
EDITOR’S NOTE — This first-person story is an excerpt of articles written by David L. Chancey, who lives in Fayetteville, Georgia. He serves as transitional pastor at Eagle’s Landing Baptist in Griffin, Georgia. Visit www.davidchancey.com for more info.
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