2020 Home for the Holidays

2020 Home for the Holidays LINCOLN DAILY NEWS November 25, 2020 Page 7 O ne night a man dreamed that he died and went to Heaven. He was met at the gate by his heavenly host and led to a beautiful mansion. Inside his host led him down a hallway to a door. The host pushed and shoved and finally the door was opened. The man looked inside, the room was filled to bursting, and the man asked, “What is this?” His host answered, “These are all the times you have asked God to give you something, from the time you were a child to just today, every request you have ever made is in this room.” The host closed the door and led the man further down the hall to another door. This time the door swung open easily. The man looked inside, the room was almost empty. “And what room is this,” he asked his host. The host replied, “This room contains all the times in your life that you said thank you to God for the gifts you were given.” The man woke with a start. He was in his warm comfortable bed in his own bedroom, in his own home that he had bought with money he earned in a very successful career. Beside him slept his devoted wife who had been beside him in the good times, the bad, and all points in between. Down the hallway his children slept. His pride and joy was his family. But he had to wonder, if he was not thanking God for his blessings, had he ever thanked his wife, his children, his employer? Had he shown them an attitude or gratitude or had he taken them all for granted, just as he had his Lord? Many of us have probably heard this parable or one similar in recent times. A similar story has circulated on social media in recent months perhaps as an attempt to make us think about what we do have to be thankful for in such difficult times. Our community has suffered physically with sickness and even death. We’ve suffered emotionally with depression and isolation. We’ve suffered financially with unexpected closures and lay-offs and even loss of jobs. For many of us it’s pretty difficult to be grateful for what we have, because we are focused on what you have lost. But, if we can find that attitude of gratitude, we will benefit from it, and it will make the hardships of the day a little easier to bear. If you go online and search “Attitude of Gratitude” you will find it is not an original idea. There are a number of search results that lead to some interesting articles and guidance on how to develop that grateful attitude. Even before the internet though, having an attitude of gratitude is not an original thought. Many of us have read and heard Psalms 118:24 “This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.” So, in this tough year we have been through, how are we supposed to rejoice because it is another day the Lord has made? An attitude of gratitude Continued n