Railroads and Thankfulness 

dannywoodall500@hotmail.com

Throughout the western United States, the railroads were truly a blessing. The long cattle drives became a thing of the past. Travel was faster and more reliable. Good and services arrived quicker and in better condition. Thanks to the railroads life was easier.

As I write this we are in the Christmas season. Not everyone is in the holiday spirit. Yesterday at a tollbooth, an elderly lady needed some directions. Being in the car right behind her I could see the lady in tollbooth was trying to give her directions. Cars farther back started honking, and one guy started hollering. Finally the lady understood the directions and went on her way. The whole incident took maybe a minute, but patience was in short supply. Cars zoomed past shaking their head, no time for an elderly lady confused by all of the lights and signs.

Had I been several cars back, chances are I would have honked all because I didn’t know what was going on ahead. However God knew what was going on, and if I remembered that, there would have been no need to honk. The honking actually made it harder for the attendant to give directions. Too often we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and forget to count our blessings.

Sad to say, but New Years Day is often the time we pause long enough to catch our breath before we do it all again for another year. Always busy and always in hurry, we run another lap in the rat race. Even doing spiritual things can often leave us tired and exhausted. We often mistake spiritual activity for spiritual growth, only stopping now then to say a brief thank you to God. In order for us to really grow spiritually we need to develop an attitude of thankfulness. This attitude of thankfulness begins when we start taking time to count our blessings. We need to realize that all-good things flow from God, and not ourselves.

When we count our blessings, instead of seeing the glass half-full or half-empty, we see the glass as overflowing. No matter what your situation is, there are reasons to be thankful. As Christians we can all be thankful that this life is as bad as it gets. We can be thankful that we will have eternity in Heaven. We should be thankful that we live in a great country. That’s for starters, go ahead and take the time right now to think about other things you have to be thankful for. If you are having trouble making a list, it is a sign that you need to spend more time with God. It is a sign that you are letting the rat race get to you.

Learning to develop an attitude of thankfulness, is one of the first steps in growing as a Christian. Unfortunately it doesn’t come naturally; you have to work at it. You can start by reading the chapters in The Book of Psalm, which express thanksgiving. Another way is to begin each day thanking God that you woke up to start another day. Then at night, thank Him for keeping you safe through another day. One other way is next time your stopped by a train, remember how much trains were a blessing to western United States and instead of gripping about the wait as each train car goes by try to assign one of your blessings to each car. 

Servings From God’s Chuck Wagon: Philippians 4:19  

¹⁹And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

Campfire Meditations: Think about how God has blessed you. 

Godly Spurs: Next time you are waiting on a train, assign each car a blessing in your life.

Copyright by Danny Woodal