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Commentary: ...a prayer of thanksgiving

  • Published
  • By Chaplain (Maj.) Craig Abee
  • 315th Airlift Wing
JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. --  "If the only prayer you ever prayed was a prayer of thanksgiving - it would be enough."

I don't remember where I ran across this saying or who said, but it has become one of my favorites.

In the hustle and daily grind of life we can easily be overwhelmed with family and work issues. We can dwell on the negative feelings about the economy or the government or world affairs. We find faults in others and we can slip into finding someone to blame and criticize for any trouble that comes our way.

For those of us who consider ourselves spiritual people, even our prayer life can slip into a laundry list of ways we would wish God would come and straighten out this world and those people in it. We often tend to leave ourselves off the list of "those people." When times are hard and things are not going our way, it can be a challenge to be thankful.

These are hard times. We lose good people almost daily in Afghanistan. We all know people who can't seem to find work. Things don't seem to be going our way. We might not walk away from Iraq with the clear victory as in past wars. People continue to lose their homes to foreclosure. And yet, there are also "those people" who are thankful through anything and in all things.

Marching with others from the 315th in the Charleston Veterans Day parade a few weeks ago, I was amazed at the number of people who said "thank you" to our small column as we made our way through the streets of Charleston. Those words where meant for everyone who has answered the call. I am amazed each week at the checks that come into the church I serve for the hungry who are fed through our food pantry. There are often notes of "thanks" for offering this service to the hungry of our community. I am amazed, that from a group of people who all ready serve and sacrifice so much here at Joint Base Charleston, so much is given through the CFC. Giving is often an act of thanks.

We all know those people who make it a habit to say "thank you" often. A sincere "thank you" is enough to change someone's whole day. We can look at Thanksgiving as a vacation day in late November, or we can look to make it a habit. Giving thanks can be just enough - to rule the day.