I ran across an interesting statistic this past week. It simply said that the Pilgrims made seven times as many graves as they did huts to live in. Yet, they set aside a day to give thanks to Almighty God.

This Thursday families will travel many miles to be with each other on Thanksgiving Day. As they gather for their family feasts, it is a tradition of many to state the things for which they are thankful. It is not uncommon to hear statements like, “I’m thankful for my family,” or “I’m thankful for my health,” or “I’m thankful for my job,” etc… and indeed, we should do this! After all, it is a day of thanks giving.

This year, as you think about the things you are thankful for, I want to give you a strange twist to consider. This year I want to encourage you to be thankful for the storms of life that you have endured this year. Now, I know, you may think that a strange suggestion. However, as I look back over my life I find that it is the storms I encountered along the way that redirected and impacted my life more than anything else. I tell people that I learn well by pain. If I put my hand on a hot stove and burn it, you don’t ever have to tell me again not to do that. I’m not as smart as some of you. Therefore, I don’t take time to learn that the stove is hot “before” putting my hand on it! Consequently, pain becomes my teacher! And so it is with life. I’m thankful for the storms because they have redirected me more than anything. Without the storms I would not be the person I am today.

Years ago I heard a story about a German Baron (Rich man) who lived in a castle on a hill. There was always a gentle breeze blowing on top of the hill. He had a love for music and a love for the people who lived in the village in the valley below his castle. On day he decided to build a gigantic wind chime on his property. He erected towers and strung many cables from tower to tower. His idea was to harness the wind and cause it to create a beautiful melody that would waft into the valley below as a blessing to the people. However, despite all his best efforts he could never make his gigantic wind chime work. Dejected, he gave up. However, just a few days later the storm of the century struck that part of the countryside. His castle was at the center of the storm. Imagine his surprise as around midnight when he opened the door of his castle to survey the storm – he heard the melody of the wind chime. It took a storm to produce winds strong enough to create the melody he desired so badly to hear. And so it is with us. Sometimes it takes the storms of our lives to produce winds strong enough to create the melody we desire to hear. This Thanksgiving, learn to be thankful for the storms!

As I close this column today, the words of an old song come to mind, “I thank God for the mountains, and I thank Him for the valleys, I thank Him for the storms He brought me through. For if I’d never had a problem, I wouldn’t know God could solve them, and I’d never know what faith in God could do. Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God. Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.”

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bro. Aaron

To schedule Brother Aaron to preach a Sunday service at your church, a revival meeting, or a special event, you may contact him at: 1-800-511-9536, 706-302.9162, or e-mail: freshfire@mindspring.com