WHAT DO YOU SAY????

 

     My parents taught me a lot in life. I have to say one thing they instilled in my brother; sister and I is to appreciate anything and everything that is given to us. It could be receiving a present, getting a check in the mail from a relative or Grandma or Grandpa handing you a $5 bill before they drive home to New Jersey. I can still hear my mom or dad's voice in my head saying, "What do you say?" I am so so glad they instilled in me an appreciation for anything AND everything!

     Of course, we all know the answer to that question is "Thank you!" How many of us really say that? I have noticed that the group referred to as "Millennials" rarely will say "Thank you." I'm not saying all of them but there is a good majority who do not. I have seen this occur when you open a door for someone, when I hand a tray of food to a guest at work or when you are on the road, and you let a car go ahead of you as you let them pull out of a shopping center (sometimes they wave "thank you" but many times they ignore you and drive away). Whenever someone does any kind of "Act of Kindness", we should always immediately respond with a "Thank You!" I remember once being in a Deli at breakfast time. It was very busy. A gentleman in front of me dropped his wallet by accident and started walking away with his bag of food to the door. I yelled over to him "Sir, you dropped your wallet!" Instead of saying "Thank you" he quickly grabbed his lost wallet out of my hand and walked away. I wasn't expecting a reward obviously, but I did think it would have been nice for him to thank me! Another time when I started working for Chick Fil-A in Port Jefferson, and older lady walked up to the counter and said "Give me a refill of lemonade!" I took her cup and as I did the refill of her lemonade, she yells over to me in a nasty tone "I said Diet Lemonade!!" I wasn't about to correct her, so I got a new cup, filled it with ice and refilled it with Diet (New Yorkers pronounce it "Doyet") Lemonade. She never said, "Thank you" and walked away from the front counter glaring and snarling at me like I was her new enemy. I think she wanted a fight! Sorry, I don't fight old ladies in fact I don't fight anybody! These are two examples of when people don't appreciate or go out of their way to thank you for an act of service or kindness.   

     The Thanksgiving holiday should be a day to give thanks to God. My feeling is it should be something we should say to God every single day and not just on the last Thursday in November. I always think about the families right here in America who can't afford a turkey pr even a decent meal the other 364 days of the year. I think about the restaurants and families who throw away food which is such a huge waste. I think about that homeless man or woman who is rummaging through garbage cans trying to find something to eat because they are starving. I thank God that every day of my life, I have always had a meal. I thank God that I have a nice bed to sleep in. I thank God I have a job, a car and a roof over my head. So many times, we forget to say "Thank you" because we truthfully expect everything. In America, we are spoiled! This Thanksgiving, as we sit around our tables with turkey and veggies, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes...okay, I'll stop! It's making me hungry! We need to say thank you to God for all He has provided for us. It says in Psalm 118:1 - Give thanks to the Lord for he is good: his love endures forever. 

So, what do we say?????

I hope you all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving, but I also hope you do take that time to thank God for all he has done for you!       

HAPPY THANKSGIVING A WEEK EARLY AND GOD BLESS!!