Being Grateful

Long years ago while serving as pastor at my first appointment, I came to a moment which gave me the privilege of going to the home of one of the folks of the church for his baptism.  He was late in years and bound to the home by physical circumstances and wanted to profess his faith in Christ and be baptized.  He said, "Most people just assumed I had been baptized, but I wasn't and the older I got, the harder it was to own up to it.  Now is the time."  The moment of gathering in his room with the men of his Sunday School class left a lasting impression on this preacher.

 

Some years later I was reminded of this moment in a powerful way.    Actually, it was more like thirty rather than some.  I got a note from the old man's daughter thanking me for that blessed moment shared with her father.  Even though the note came out of the mail box, it was more like it came out of the blue.  It was good to know I was not the only one who remembered that baptism and it has always been a reminder to me to thank those who have touched our lives in the part which is behind us. 

 

Living with gratitude takes some practice for most of us.  We live in such a rush we fail to see all the people around us who are blessing  us.  To see is to live with gratitude.  And, such is also true of the past.  Some of those who have blessed our lives are gone.  Some of them we surely remembered in recent days as All Saints Day came and went once again.  While we can call their names and thank them even as they dwell in the heavenly place, we can also take a moment and remember some who still walk around us and with us.  These are the ones we can take a moment to express gratitude.  Receiving such a word of thanksgiving from us will surely warm their hearts and, in the process, it may warm ours a bit as well.