Absentee Blessings

 November 23, 2023

Everyone speaks and writes about that for which they are thankful on Thanksgiving day; the blessings of family, friends, freedom, etc. I’m thinking tonight of the gifts I haven’t received. I didn’t receive a windfall inheritance. My father lamented in his latter years not having been able to leave much of an inheritance. “You gave us something far greater,” I responded. “You gave us integrity and an example of faith and hard work.”

I never got a competitive spirit. If anything, I always felt inferior to others. I wasn’t athletic, and though I loved music, I was never particularly good at it. I joke that I’m living proof that one doesn’t have to be good at music to enjoy it. Unless you’re a professional, being competitive in music is more of a liability than an asset. You have to be able to work with others to play in the band.

I didn’t receive the gene for thick, wavy hair. I have a friend who is eighty six and has the hair of a twenty-year old. I am envious, but at least when you’re bald, you’re the first to know when it starts to rain. Fortunately, my wife married me because she liked my eyes. (Ask her; it’s true!) I still have both of them, although they are framed in bags these days. At least she wasn’t so enthralled by my hair!

At one time, I am told I had a violent temper. My grandfather thought I would kill my brother some day; I suppose because of the time I chased him through the house with a baseball bat. Poppa Henthorn didn’t live long enough to see us grow up and actually like each other. When I received Christ as my Savior, that temper simply vanished. I must have received a special blessing because I lost my temper that evening when I prayed to receive Jesus (pun intended).

Last summer in Cuba, I lost all my teaching notes on leadership, Bible studies, sermons. They were in the backpack that was stolen one night while I was sleeping. I lost my notes, but learned I could function without them; something I had never done before. Linda used to say that I couldn’t carry on a decent conversation without notes. Now I know that’s not true!

This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for blessings not received; the absence of gifts not given that continue to teach me of God’s sufficient grace to an insufficient man. I am truly blessed.