Generations of Gratitude

"So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, Will give You thanks forever; We will show forth Your praise to all generations." (Psalm 79:13 NKJ)

On Thursday of this week, the Lord willing, our generation of Smiths will gather with our larger family to enjoy some fellowship, fun, and food together. Our parents have gone to their rewards, so those who will gather are third, fourth, and emerging fifth generations of grateful people.

And lest we forget, Thursday is a special holiday set aside for gratitude. Giving thanks to our God for all his blessings, known and unknown, -- past, present and yet to come. I have never known an era of life when our family didn't gather for Thanksgiving. One of my blessings is that I have been reared by a family of Christians who instilled a spirit of gratitude in me.

My parents and their parents before them had firmly accepted Christ as their Shepherd, and when you are sheep in God's pasture, you give thanks for ever. In addition, the habit and tradition is passed down to your children, to their children, and to your grandchildren's children. It becomes a generational activity and blessing!

And by creating this generational tradition of gratitude, my ancestors have not only ensured blessings to the family, they have also ensured that we "show forth God's praise to all generations." We always share our thanks and praise with our friends and coworkers who, for whatever reason, cannot gather with their own families. We encourage them to join our celebration, offering them a temporary surrogate family.

And we make certain that we tell our Lord, "So we your people and the sheep of your pasture, will give you thanks forever; we will show forth your praise to all generations."

Dear Father, thank you for my ancestral generations of gratitude who passed the blessings down to me. Grant that I will continue in gratitude and pass it on to the emerging generations. I pray this in the name of Jesus. AMEN

Be grateful today and praise Christ to all generations,