journey with Christ

BE THANKFUL

There was once a poor man called Gauchi. He lived with his son, Yoshi in the bucolic areas of Southeast Asia. The money Gauchi earned was barely enough to feed them therefore even eating trice a day was a luxury to them. One day his son came back from school having excelled in his exam. His father had promised to work harder and buy him a new pair of uniform but only if he outrivalled the others in his school work.

That day Yoshi was beyond exhilarated, he jumped up and down with so much anticipation as he headed home. On arrival, he embraced his dad with affection before drawing out the sheet of paper with his results. Burning with curiosity, Gauchi wanted to know why his son was so unusually thrilled. Although he was illiterate, he could tell from his son's face what the paper entailed. He congratulated him as tears fogged his eyes almost blinding him. "You will buy me the uniform this weekend right? " Yoshi asked, with so much exhilaration. "Y.. Yes son, " answered Gauchi in a hesitant tone. As his son leapt away, the smile on his face faded away turning to a dull expression.

That week Gauchi did his best to get some cash but it didn't bear any fruit. He came up with another plan instead.

On Saturday evening when Yoshi came back from his half-day soccer classes he found a red woven bag on his bed. Well... a bed like structure. It looked like it could fall a part with a mere blow of the wind. It immediately clicked in his mind that it was his gift. He made his way towards it and opened it. It was his uniform, neatly folded and nicely fragranced with traditional perfume. It took him a while to notice that it was the same old cloth just knitted, retouched and cleaned. Tears filled his eyes as he was so impressed of his father's work. "I'm sorry son, " a voice behind him gasped, "I was unable to purchase a new one. " Just before he could finish, Yoshi stood up and hugged him. Although it wasn't new he was so happy and thankful. That wasn't a reaction Gauchi was expecting. His act of appreciation warmed his heart and he  had a yearning to work even harder. He put his trust in God and  worked. Two weeks later he was able to buy not only the uniform but also a new pair of shoes.

In our lives we shouldn't practice thankfulness only as a courtesy towards others but also to God. We take for granted many things that God has blessed us with, or even feel like it is not enough. Think of it you're alive, in good health, clothed, good food and shelter etc. Assume Guachi is God and Yoshi is us Christians. God is pleased when we appreciate for the little that we have. In that way he even goes ahead and gives us more than what we asked for.

According to Unicef 140 million children are orphans, ... do you appreciate your parents enough? Across the globe 39% of people never have access to education yet we complain about going to school. At least 1 in 7 people in the population are abused whereas we on the other hand, have love and care from friends and family. It is a blessing if you're not among the 500+ million people with chronic diseases in the world.

In the garden of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve authority over all his creations. There was quite a variety of fruits from different trees in the garden but the devil was able to deceive Eve to eat from the forbidden tree.

A lot of blessings and favors are on our way but the devil blinds us.He makes us feel like we don't have much. Our perspective of blessing  then changes to the ethanol-powerd vehicles, colossal mansions, flashy designer clothes and worldly objects. We focus so much asking to God for these things yet we forget to thank him. Just like Eve we are deluded into sin in order to obtain these worldly desires. Our focus is on the things we don't have rather than our blessings which are blurred out. God wants us to adjust our lenses to take out the blur . When we are thankful and seek him first, he works in ways to favor us.

Learn and practice the art of appreciation to God and to others around us at all times. Whether it is a small or big favors, always act like the tenth leper.

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