Give Thanks
by Susanna Martinez
Hi boys and girls, it’s my opportunity once again to bring you the story. Now I know a lot of us are counting down, right? Thanksgiving is coming. And I read this story about Joey in a magazine that I get. And I wanted to share it with you.
It’s this little boy, his name is Joey, and he has a little sister named Emma. He’s 11 years old. And the story tells us that He was not a very grateful boy. He loved to go outside and play with his friends. And he loved it when he woke up and he could smell yummy food that mommy had prepared. And he said that one sunny day he woke up and he could smell that mommy had made some delicious pancakes. And he was ready to go and have his breakfast. And mommy also made him hash brown. He said he sat down and mommy’s like, how was your day? Did you have a good night? Yes, mommy.
After he’s eating all his food. It’s like, I’ll be back, mommy. It must’ve been the summer because he goes outside and he plays soccer with his friends. Once his tummy is grumbling, he knows it’s lunchtime. So he comes back. He sees daddy working outside in the garden and he’s like, daddy, do you know what’s for lunch? As he goes inside. He could see that mommy had made some rice and beans and prepared a salad. So he sat down and he ate it again. And his family, boys and girls, every night they have a chat together.
And they were reading and daddy read a verse that is found in 1 Thessalonians 5.18 that reads, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you. in Christ Jesus. He didn’t pay much attention as daddy was reading it because he was thinking hmm tomorrow’s soccer game I’m gonna try to make a goal. So he goes to sleep. The next morning, guess what? He felt sick. He had a fever. Mom is like you’re not going outside. You have to stay inside. He was not very he didn’t like it. He was a little bummed. Mom, but we have a game. I’m sorry you can’t go outside Joey.” So he stayed home. He ended staying home for two days. They didn’t let him go out. So as he sat in his bed, mommy’s like, you have to rest. He was so bored. He’s like, oh, daddy came in the first day to see how he was doing.
And daddy reminded him of that verse to give thanks in all circumstances. He’s like, daddy, how can you? be grateful if I can’t go outside and play soccer with my friends. That doesn’t make any sense to me.” But daddy reminded him, you have a comfortable bed, you have a family who loves you, and you have a mommy who cooks soup for you so that you can feel better.
Oh, Joey begins to think. I didn’t think about that. But daddy was right. He does have a lot of things to be grateful for. Says on the third day when he felt better, he got up and went to go have breakfast. And you know what the first thing he said? He told his mommy, thank you mom for making breakfast for me. He said that he went out for a walk and he noticed all the birds chirping, the butterflies passing by, the beautiful flowers in his garden. Guess what? He even had a vegetable garden. He was grateful for that too. That made him think. Hmm, I’ve never noticed that before.
Since he was even grateful for his little sister. I know sometimes little sisters can bug us, but they love to spend time with us. And that’s what he did. He played with Emma and he said he saw how beautiful smile she had because he spent time with her. It says he never forgot that we need to give thanks as you see behind me. We need to be grateful. in all circumstances, even when we’re feeling a little sick, even when we think that things aren’t going our way, we should be thankful because God is always with us.
So boys and girls, I want to invite you to give thanks to your mommies, give thanks to daddy, grandma, grandpa, anyone who’s around you who spends time with you, cooks for us, cleans for us. We should be grateful because the way we see things, it will change. God wants us to be grateful in all circumstances. I hope you remember the story, boys and girls, and try to incorporate the word thank you often, people who love us.
Let’s bow our heads for prayer. Dear heavenly Father, we thank you dear Lord once again for another opportunity to come to your temple and worship you. Thank you dear Lord for the great parents we have, for our homes, for the food that we have. and allow us to your Lord to remember that we need to be grateful. We are thankful for all the great things that you’ve given us. Allow us your Lord to always be a light wherever we are at, for we pray in Jesus’ name, amen.
Bye boys and girls, see you next time.