Pastor Dyman Giving Thanks 2015

November 27, 2015                                                             From the Desk of Your Pastor

My dear Friends at Middletown Seventh-day Adventist Church!

Every year around this time, I watch the Thanksgiving food enthusiasts close their eyes and lick their lips in anxious anticipation of a scrumptious feast. But I never join them. The truth is, turkey is not my meal of choice. And pumpkin pie doesn't thrill me. The same goes for the stuffing.  So, despite the hype, I have to admit that Thanksgiving fare generally under-whelms me.  But this year I was actually looking forward to it. And it had little to do with the actual meal.  Of course I was happy to spend one more Thanksgiving with my mom, brothers and sisters from Michigan, Massachusetts, and Brooklyn. But that’s not why I anticipated Thanksgiving so much this year.

I must confess that the real reason for my unusual anticipation was… in catching myself to become forgetful. Yes. At some point this year, I caught myself plainly forgetting to thank God for some basic facts of my life. Like, for the air I breathe. When was the last time I thanked Him for the breath of fresh air? Or for the eyes that can still read without glasses. For the brain that still remembers who I am. For the setbacks that have formed me and made me stronger. For the Internet, where I can learn about pretty much anything online.  For the indoor plumbing that not only provides convenience, it spares from diseases. For the mistakes that were forgiven. For my name which gave me an identity and a place in this world…

Every time I find myself forgetful, I hear the voice of an eight-year-old named Christina, who had cancer of the nervous system. When asked what she wanted for her birthday, she thought long and hard and finally said, "I don't know. I have two sticker books and a Cabbage Patch doll. I have everything!" The kid is right. 

And what about you? What do you do when you ever catch yourself forgetting to be thankful for the ‘small staff’? What about reminding you of a12 year old boy named David. David was born without an immune system. He underwent a bone marrow transplant in order to correct the deficiency. Up to that point he had spent his entire life in a plastic bubble in order to prevent exposure to common germs, bacteria, and viruses that could kill him. He lived without ever knowing human contact. When asked what he'd like to do if and when released from his protective bubble, he replied, "I want to walk barefoot on grass, and touch my mother's hand."

Why do we forget to be grateful for the simplest things of life anyway?  Why do we tend to take them for granted? I don’t know. What I do know now is that one Thanksgiving holiday per year, (even if it is a Brooklyn Thanksgiving!) will not compensate for the year of forgetfulness. (Read: 1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Have a Year of Thanksgiving!

Dr. Victor Dyman