The Un-Thanksgiving Note

My daughter got a nasty note the other day.

She's been experimenting with some new recipes at college. After carefully researching some new delectable dishes, she cooked a fancy chicken and pasta concoction. She and her boyfriend ate about half of the meal. Feeling generous toward a starving dorm crowd, they put the leftovers in the public refrigerator, knowing a hungry, high metabolic rate, university male would most likely scarf down the leftovers.

That's exactly what happened--except for the note they received in the empty leftover container. Yes, the leftover-eater left a note! He scribbled a short critique of the food, outlining what spices were missing according to his tastes. He recommended the addition of a few ingredients and chastised my daughter for the shoddy cooking job.

My daughter was surprised at the note. In addition to its harsh tone, she noticed that the eater didn't stop with the first "repulsive" bite. He ate half a pan--finished it off. Couldn't have been that awful. The note seemed a bit inauthentic.

What hurt my daughter most was the lack of gratitude. I always taught her: "Be happy about what you have, not unhappy about what you don't have." This guy was unhappy about what he didn't have--even though he ate until he was satisfied.

Okay, this gets me thinking: how many "un-thanksgiving notes" do I send God? How many times am I unhappy about what I don't have instead of being happy and thankful for all the Lord has given me?

Yeah, I'm an "un-thanksgiving" note writer. I complain. I wish for the next best thing. I compare what I've got to all the better stuff everyone else has. And God gets hurt by my ingratitude.

Fortunately, my "note" doesn't have the last word. In the face of the worst life offers--death, Jesus overrode our fallenness with THANKSGIVING. As Jesus stared into His friend Lazarus' tomb, He began His prayer this way: "Father, I thank you that you have heard me" (John 11:41). Then he called Lazarus out of the tomb.

Jesus' thanksgiving echoes through His cross and grave into our lives. We're not dead anymore. We have the gift of new life. Filled with His Spirit, we now say, "Thank you."

And on Thanksgiving Day--and every day--we go back to the blessings God has prepared for us. New life. Another chance.

It's just like cooking at college. My daughter is still putting together some great new recipes. She's also leaving plenty of food in the frig for the starving college students. More blessings. Another chance to say "thank you."