Why Thanks?

THURS., NOV. 24, 1994, 1:24 PM
FARM, STUDY

This is the day that your culture calls Thanksgiving, and the ample meal will be soon, around your large table. If you probe a bit below the acceptance of Thanks as appropriate you come to two questions: Thanks to whom… and for what? As the wind blows gustily, and you have finished your woodcutting, hear Me as I give answer to these questions… and perhaps more.

For you, and for most Christians, the answer to the first is easy. The Thanks come to Me for, ultimately I have provided all that you have. This earth is “set up” so that it appears that you have earned some of what you have or that others have provided it. Some folks do live in this way, for I don’t provide for everyone as I do for you and for some others. How is such a decision made? I do some choosing, providing for some who don’t even ask. Then I respond to prayers of supplication and give to some what they plead for. I also respond to prayers of thanks, giving more to those who appreciate what I have given… or thank Me for what I actually haven’t given.

You’ll note that I said, above, I ultimately am responsible for all for which you can be thankful. I created this earth as a special place for human life, which can only exist and continue because of all the rest of the life forms. I sustain this earth, so that food will grow… and even useless trinkets can be made and then given and received.

So let’s get to that “what,” so it will be clearer how who and what are related. First, be thankful for life itself, and for the life that you have been living for these 68+ years. Then comes health or the capacity to function well as a total person and to adapt to situations that require more than normal functioning. Your body has a few imperfections, but still works pretty well. It felt good to split those logs awhile ago, using and maintaining strength. Take care of your body, but know also that your spirit is a big factor in your body’s health. You can thank Me for your life and health.

Thank Me also for your wife, Lenore, your children, now men, and their families. I made this all possible, and I am pleased with your lives… although I still want more attention from Matthew. He is slow in coming around to Me, but I am not yet impatient enough to pull him against his will. You and Lenore are having a fine life together, but you must continue to adapt to changes… some sad, like the loss of her diamond. It’s a symbolic loss, a symbol of your love for each other. The symbol is gone, but the love remains, perhaps even more strongly. Remember My admonition that as physical capacities diminish your spirit should increase. In like fashion, as you lose possessions, even prized ones, the spirit that is love should increase.

I’ll accept Thanks for your position at the university and for your career as it has developed. Of course you have done some work to “deserve” this, but I was leading and guiding you for most of these working years.

You can be thankful for all of the places you’ve lived and, of course, most especially for this Farm. I have given you this Farm, even as you still must pay for it and may never fully own it. Symbolically, however, it is yours and is a gift from Me for your enjoyable living.