My mom was absolutely amazing—she was Supermom. She cooked family meals morning and night and made lunch for ten kids every day. She did laundry daily, ironed our clothes, sheets, and pillowcases—just about everything. She took us everywhere and was present at every life event she could attend. How she kept her sanity, I will never know. She’s in Heaven now, but I can’t wait to tell her again how amazing she was and how thankful I am to have had her as my mom.
I remember when I was eleven years old, and the fifth of ten children. My bedroom was next to our laundry room. I wasn’t a good sleeper growing up, and I’d wake up frequently during the night. Mom wasn’t a great sleeper either—she probably had too much on her mind. Many nights, I’d see her doing laundry at 2 or 3 in the morning. Even at that young age, it made my heart ache to see how hard she worked for us.
One day, I made a decision: I was going to find ways to help Mom. Our good size laundry room also served as a coat closet, storing our shoes, coats, hats, mittens, boots, and more. It looked like a hotel coat-check room, it was so packed. And since we were kids, it often looked like a tornado had blown through.One night, while Mom was at a PTA meeting, I decided to reorganize the entire room. It took me three hours, but I finished just before 10 p.m. I was at our kitchen sink getting a drink of water before bed when Mom came home. She saw me in the kitchen and instantly got mad at me for being up an hour past my bedtime. She scolded me and sent me to bed, but I didn’t tell her why I was up—I wanted it to be a surprise.Within ten minutes, she was in my room, sitting on my bed, running her fingers through my hair, kissing my cheek, and nearly crying. She had seen the newly organized laundry room, figured out I had done it, and felt horrible for yelling at me. She thanked me repeatedly for what I had done and told me how much it meant to her. I asked her if we could get a rack for the boots and shoes, and a file cabinet for the hats and mittens to keep them organized. She got both, and we ended up with the most organized laundry room imaginable. I made it my job to keep it that way for her.My mom was the world’s greatest appreciator. She’d gush with thanks and then thank us again. Her gratitude was so motivating that it made me want to help her even more. I started helping with her garden each year, and that’s where my love for gardening began—a passion I am forever thankful for. Helping with the garden became another source of heartfelt appreciation from my mom.
Thankfulness is such a powerful and motivating force, yet in my experience, many people are poor at expressing it. Should that surprise us? It seems it's been this way for a long time. Can you imagine being healed from leprosy and not being thankful? I can’t.
In Luke 17:14–19 (NIV), we read about the ten lepers who cried out to Jesus for healing. As they went, they were cleansed, but only one of them came back to thank Him. It says, “One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked Him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then He said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.’”Only one came back to thank Jesus. Because his heart was full of thanksgiving, he received more than the others. All ten were cleansed of leprosy, but to the thankful one, Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well.” His gratitude opened his eyes to see who Jesus truly was—God Himself—and brought him eternal life.
Thanksgiving opens our eyes to see more of God and invites more of His blessings into our lives. Philippians 4:6 (NIV) says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” While we often bring our needs to God, do we take time to thank Him for the multitude of prayers He has already answered? Without a spirit of thanksgiving, we risk missing—we miss seeing His intimate involvement in our lives.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done things for people that required time, effort, and sacrifice. Yet, only a small percentage truly express gratitude. That’s okay—it’s not why I do it. But I know their lack of thanksgiving hinders them from experiencing even greater blessings. So here’s a truth to chew on: Developing a thankful spirit is a godly attribute that draws more of His blessings into our lives. Thank you, Mom, for modeling this and instilling thankfulness in me. I am eternally grateful to God and to you for it!
Ephesians 5:20 "Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
In His love,
Pastor Tim Burt
