34 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever! 1 Chronicles 16:34
By Bro. John L. Cash
I think November is my favorite month of the year. After all, in November, we can think about all the fun things we did for Halloween and look forward to all the good things we’ll do at Christmas.
But besides that, just on its own, November is wonderful. God decorates the world with the autumn leaves, and we decorate our homes with pilgrims and acorns and pumpkins and apples and turkeys and cornucopias. November is the time to celebrate Thanksgiving — and that’s easy because the beauty of November just makes me feel thankful.
This week it dawned on me that Veteran’s Day is always in November, right before Thanksgiving. That is so fitting. Freedom is the first blessing for which to give thanks. Freedom is what makes the enjoyment of all our other blessings possible. And, as they say, “freedom is never free.” It exists only because our veterans have fought and sacrificed to purchase our liberty.
Maybe that sounds hackneyed and trite. But preachers really believe it. They’re the ones who do the funerals for soldiers killed in the line of duty.
So, on this November morning, look up and see the blessings our Heavenly Father has poured out all around us, and give thanks. And don’t forget that on the calendar—and in our everyday lives—Thanksgiving always follows Veterans’ Day. We just have to be wise enough to realize the connection.
Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad.” He was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and has spent the last 34 ½ years being a country preacher in the piney woods five miles south of the little town of Hickory, Mississippi. He’s currently on a sabbatical from the preaching ministry, and is an English teacher at the Choctaw Tribal School. He and his lovely wife, Susan, live in a brick house in town (where the autumn weather has been gorgeous this week.) You can send him a note at countrypreacherdad@gmail.com.