Last time, we started a list of unusual things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season. The first two were a sense of humor and the uniqueness of our seasons.
3. Music
Music is a third unusual gift to be thankful for. We all listen to music intentionally or unintentionally. If you are reading this, you most likely listen to the music on Hope 100.7. We sing along to music in our cars because we enjoy the company, and it can keep us awake. Music can reduce stress and decrease pain. It keeps us involved at sporting events, gives us a means to worship in church, is used to sell us products in commercials, and keeps us calm in elevators and the grocery store. We teach the ABCs to our children in song, and we hum lullabies to put them to sleep at night.
One of my greatest joys is listening to my son play the piano, but we know God loves music too. Many of the Psalms command us to sing to Him, Revelation portrays the saints singing around God’s throne, and He created even the stars to sing (Job 38:7). God gave us something even He enjoys.
4. Diversity
Diversity. We hear a lot about diversity in our culture now, but what I mean here is just how very different we all look. I recently spent a long layover in a large international airport, and I couldn’t help but be amazed by how many different looking people there are in this world! Just in our own circles, we describe eye color, hair color, and face shape. We notice if hair is curly or wavy or straight and if a nose is Roman looking or pug. We refer to people as tall, petite, athletic, stout, apple, or pear shaped. I would guess there are hundreds more words we use to picture our individual differences.
Imagine what the world would look like without this gift. We would all look exactly alike. The world would still be able to function if we all looked the same, but God gave us variety and nuance and a look that is all our own.
5. Who To Be Thankful To
The fifth, the showstopper unusual reason to be thankful is that you know who to be thankful to. If you pay attention, you’ll hear lots of admonitions to be thankful, but rarely do they tell you whom to thank. I have heard people thank Mother Earth or the “universe,” and read that Thanksgiving is a time to thank our friends and family, to verbalize our thoughts about what we have. But we know that every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17) and knowing that and believing that is an unusual thing. Most likely, the majority of the people you work with or encounter each day do not know whom to thank.
Almost everyone reading this enjoys these gifts. They are not so much unusual as they are taken for granted. Make each time you notice something interesting a chance to thank the One who gave us not just everything, but every little thing.
For more thought-provoking topics, tune in to Hope 100.7.
God bless you. Stay hopeful! ❤️
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