Thanksgiving

One evening Jack received a phone call and talked at length before ending it; and turning to me with a dazed look, he said, “The Lord really wants me to be an usher at church.” He had been called earlier and invited to usher and so had been showing up every Sunday for a month to usher. He had been surprised that none of the other ushers expected him, but they were short handed and happy to have him serve., The caller, who had enlisted him, asked how it was going, and Jack told him that the other ushers serve only one Sunday each month, instead of every Sunday for one month. After a lengthy talk about the church in general, there was a short silence. Jack’s caller said, “We are talking about Wesley Church, aren’t we?” “No!” said Jack. “I go to Klein church!” They both quickly hung up. It was early in our move to Spring, Texas, and we had visited more than one church. That evening he experienced a literal “calling”.

By the time the month was ended, Jack had become acquainted with several men in the church who eventually became friends. He was on a “team” that served once a month, but he also substituted and so he served quite often. We have both been grateful for the mistake that bore such fruit.

Come let us sing for joy to the Lord ; let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. ( Psalm 95:1-2 )

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:7-8)

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. There will be a lot of tasting and fellowship, and people being asked to name what makes them grateful. Of all the holidays in the year, Thanksgiving is the one that is mandated from earliest times as a festival shaping our relationship with God. We’re not told to celebrate the birth of God’s son, or even his resurrection, but we are repeatedly told to render thanks to God for every aspect of His life that He shares with us.

Jack never stopped being glad to usher. He feels to this day that it was truly a call to remind him of the One whose service it is to usher in church. Jack never forgot it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love in Him,

Prue