This, Too, Shall Pass!

            What shall I write for Thanksgiving Day this year? I have been wondering for several days. These are not the best of times. Lots of people are hurting. Political leadership is in short supply. Headlines tend to be negative and discouraging. So is there anything to be grateful for when we gather around the table Thursday?

            Maybe this is worth some thoughtful reflection this year: This, too, shall pass.

            The truth is that nothing in this world is going to last very long. Recession, war, cancer, migraines, an ogre for a boss, a physics class – not one of them is going to last forever. Of course, we are usually thinking about beautiful sunsets, ice cream at picnics, or extended family around the Thanksgiving Day table and lamenting those when we comment about things that are too short-lived.

            But the same is true of life’s setbacks and heartaches as well.

            The longest of human lives are incredibly short – when measured against eternity. David said it 3,000 years ago: “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered – how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath” (Psalm 39:4-5 NLT).

            Perhaps it would help all of us to keep more things in perspective to realize that the good and the bad, the best days and the worst, or the achievements and the embarrassments are always less than they seem to be at the moment. The person who takes the positives too seriously is in danger of arrogance; the one who thinks a failure or humiliation is forever falls prey to depression and despair.

            For every good thing, give thanks to God. For every transgression, receive his forgiveness. In sickness, loss, and grief, accept his daily grace and strength.

            It isn’t just that I see it in others. This tendency to see too much that is negative and to live with needless stress is too much within my own personality. So one of the items on my list of things for which to be thankful this Thursday will be that life is transient. Successes are only momentary. Failures need not be viewed as permanent either. There is a certain element of relief in knowing that nothing in this human experience is forever.

            When I was just a little boy, I remember an old fellow saying – with a twinkle in his eye – that his favorite part of the Bible was this line: “And it came to pass.” Maybe I’ve had to live nearly as long as he did to get his point.

            Two verses later in the Psalm quoted above comes this: “And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.”

            Come Thanksgiving this Thursday, I will remember that – and be grateful.