By Greg Miller © 2017

Ben and Bernice owned a small farm in the southern part of the country.

For Ben and Bernice, Thanksgiving was one of their favorite holidays of the year. “There is nothing like preparing a feast for my family on Thanksgiving Day,” Bernice told Barbara, her best friend.

“What are you most thankful for?” Barbara asked.

“I am most thankful for being saved by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,” Bernice smiled.

“That’s what I am most thankful for, too,” Barbara said. “Salvation in Christ is the most wonderful thing any of us has to be thankful for. But I’m also grateful for many other things. I thank God for my husband, Bo, and our daughters, Brenda and Brandy. I can’t forget our faithful bulldog, ‘Butch.’ Of course, I’m thankful for my beautiful home, and my car, ‘Belle.’ That’s her nickname because she strikes a harmonious chord in my heart every time I get behind the wheel.”

“I know where you’re coming from,” Bernice said. “My husband, Ben, and our son, Billy, are my most valuable blessings, after Christ, of course.”

Barbara and Bernice taught elementary school students at the local school. In the course of fulfilling their jobs as teachers, they took advantage of every opportunity to share with the students all the ways the Sovereign Lord had blessed them.

Barbara and Bernice were such wonderful teachers, their students began sharing their own stories of things for which they were thankful. Boyd, one of Barbara’s students, declared, “I’m thankful for the magical gift of learning the Lord has given me. My parents and I all enjoy those A’s and B’s that smile up at us from my report card.”

Becky, one of Bernice’s students, was thankful for her new baby brother, Benjamin. “He’s such a handsome little guy, and he’s so sweet,” Becky said. “My sister, Bethany, and I are going to having a super time helping mom take care of him.”

Bernice, Barbara and all the other teachers all felt blessed to have teaching jobs and were determined to make sure all the pupils were instilled with a feeling of being grateful.

Two weeks before Thanksgiving Day, the students were given a homework assignment, memorizing First Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Barbara pointed out Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Boyd observed, “So no matter what happens in life, God’s going to make sure it results in something good. It just proves God is in control and that He deserves all the praise, honor and glory we could ever give Him!”

To contact the writer of this column about speaking engagements, including Christian Comedy Fundraising Outreaches, Christian Creativity Seminars and/or puppet ministry, please email [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected].

By Greg Miller  2018

 Greg is retired from the Elizabethton STAR Newspaper, after working there for almost 23 years. He now freelances for the paper. Contact email address is [email protected], also facebook.com/kidcool4jesus. Available for speaking engagements/other ministries. Jesus is Lord