Giving thanks with a grateful heart, Hebrews 13:5-6 with an Erma Bombeck story

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 13:5-6 (The Message)
Don't be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I'm fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?

A STORY by Erma Bombeck
An estimated 1.5 million people are living today after bouts with breast cancer. Every time I forget to feel grateful to be among them, I hear the voice of an eight-year-old named Christina, who had cancer of the nervous system. When asked what she wanted for her birthday, she thought long and hard and finally said, "I don't know. I have two sticker books and a Cabbage Patch doll. I have everything!" The kid is right.

AN OBSERVATION:
What would it take to make us happy? I mean, really, really, dance-around-the-block, hug-your-enemy, sing-out-loud-in-a-crowded-store, exhaustive-celebration happy? What would it take?

Winning the lottery? Finding a long lost relative? Being reconciled with a family member? Being free of pain? Immeasurable success?

Wasn’t it John D. Rockefeller who said, “Success is having a little bit more than what you have”? In other words, we never get to the point of complete success or total happiness. Our lives are destined for constant achieving, striving, work so that we can grab hold of that elusive “golden ring” ... unless our souls are grasped by something larger … say, the Kingdom of God.

The kid got it right! It is the simple things that bring about contentment and a grateful heart as she “relaxed with what she had.”

That’s my challenge this Thanksgiving … is it yours?

PRAYER:
Give thanks with a grateful heart,
Give thanks to the Holy One;
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son.

And now let the weak say, "I am strong,"
Let the poor say, "I am rich,"
Because of what the Lord has done for us.

Give thanks with a grateful heart,
Give thanks to the Holy One;
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son.
Give thanks, give thanks.