I almost missed the irony. There I was, at my car dealership, pondering a Thanksgiving blog while mentally fuming about the repair cost and what I thought was the endless wait for my Ford Focus.
Finally, a few synapses in my brain connected and I grudgingly admitted how thankless I was for having a career and the resources to buy and maintain a vehicle.
Famed novelist Aldous Huxley (best known for Brave New World) once said “Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.”
I think I’m a charter member of that group.
Journalist Robert Brault notes, “There is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed. If it is unexpressed, it is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude.”
Wow, I have a gold-plated, lifetime membership to that club, too.
This past summer, my wife & I visited an RV dealer to inquire about repairs to our two-year-old, storm-damaged tent trailer. While there, we happened to check out some new models on the showroom floor and fell in love with a trailer which didn’t have to be put up and taken down, and came with the luxury of a full bathroom.
Were we grateful for the tent trailer we already had? Are you kidding? We talked about that showroom model for weeks, examining potential payment schemes, considering our other financial obligations, how much we could get in trade for the tent trailer, how much longer and more comfortable our camping season could be, and on and on.
Gradually (I think the glaciers lost a few inches while this process meandered along), we concluded the purchase didn’t make sense and the tent trailer was quite adequate. Indeed, we used it in September for a wonderful week of mountain camping.
What happened to us? For awhile, we bought into the message our culture pushes with hurricane-like relentlessness: You deserve it. Go ahead and be selfish.
This message suggests we should have everything. Now. No matter what the financial, relational, or environmental cost. Because we’re worth it. And – goes the subtle inference – since we’re worth it, why should we be grateful?
My commitment to following Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God) tells me that, on my own, I don’t deserve it. I drop the ball more often than a bad outfielder. I’m worse than a blindfolded darts player when it comes to hitting the target of what I’m meant to be.
But consider this excerpt from one of the primary source documents about Jesus: God loves the world [that includes me and you] so much, “He gave his Son, His one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.”
This means Jesus, God’s son, makes up for all my screw-ups, all my pettiness, all my selfishness. And by following Jesus, I’m opening the door to Him making me a better person.
So, when my wife and I sit down for Thanksgiving dinner, we know we have a lot more than a tent trailer to be grateful for. And we’ve figured out to whom we should express thanks. Have you?
Frank's Cottage 
Full disclosure alert: This essay was originally written in 2012. My wife and I later traded in the tent trailer for a travel trailer (which we kept for two years) – after our financial situation had improved significantly and after we had increased our church and charitable giving.
That doesn’t make us particularly wonderful people, just financially wise.
I hope. 🙂
Good job Frank.
love it Frank. A centering thought for Saturday morning – thanks.
This is wonderful! Something to really make you think. We do get caught up in the worldly hype! The fact that we are convicted about it and we make changes in our attitude is what separates us! Love this! 🙂
Good thoughts! Thanks for reading (and commenting). 🙂
My husband and I are reminded quite frequently of things we should be grateful for. Yeah, our house may be a little run down, but at least we have one; a lot of people don’t.
When I think about complaining that we only have one car (A pain with 3 kids and 2 jobs), I have to remind myself to be grateful that I have a car; some don’t have one at all.
God has sent us help just when we needed it and let us know that he is looking out for us, and for that I am the most grateful of all.
Great words and a GREAT attitude, Jennifer. Thanks for reading and commenting. 🙂
God is our creator and has given over and over again to us. But the most loving, the gift that will out shine any thing this world has to offer is his only son that through him we may have eternal life.
We his children and I completely agree that most times we are ungrateful and we wast and we should be better do better the way our father teaches us to.
God knows I am far from perfect and I don’t deserve His grace and love but I accept it and cling to it like an anchor so on Thanksgiving me and my house hold will be given thanks to God for salvation and how he continues to love us.
Happy Thanksgiving God bless you and your wife and to all my Christian family out there, as well the unbelievers; God loves you, too.
Thanks for this perspective, Frank. My husband and I are overwhelmed at God’s goodness to us. We speak of it constantly as we drive in to work together each day. And yet, I sometimes get way too focused on the things I don’t have. May God help me …
Great post, Frank. I find myself reminding ME quite often to have an attitude of gratitude. When you have food, shelter and a mission and purpose in life, if you’re able to make a positive difference for others, there’s not much else you need. (We just have to manage the “wants” well.)
Wow, great post. Humbling.
Well, ironic timing or ??? My daughter went to put down her car window and pop the mechanism inside gave out completely so along with an actual rusted thru hole in the body, this makes our 13 year old Liberty officially “not worth the repairs” and now we need to get a new vehicle, a process which should be fun and yet…too many choices, choices for which I should be grateful and yet…lol
The bottom line being I am extremely grateful to have had over 11 years with an already used vehicle giving me enough time to save for a new one without stress – God is good!