These past two weeks, we have been in a sermon series at Westside Church called “Thankful”. One of the main points that we hit this last week was to “not allow what we want to rob us of what we have.” Expressing gratitude for what God has already given us will generate more joy in our lives. While I was teaching these things on Sunday morning, Pastor Richard and the rest of the Kenya team were encountering the same principle on their journey in Kenya. Here’s a snippet from Richard’s most recent post.
The other day, when we visited our Kibera Kids Center, we took a tour of the new second floor of the school. It was paid for by one of our donors. I was in one of the classrooms and on the blackboard were the words of a song written by someone who lived in the slums. The words grabbed me as I stood there wanting to absorb them into my mind. Just then sweet Lyidiah Idagiza, the head teacher, came up behind me and said; “Do you know the words to this song?” Without stopping she began to sing them. The sound of her voice echoed through the school and the whole neighborhood like the voice of someone crying out to God. Here are the words:
While the world looks upon me; As I struggle along,
They say I have nothing, but they are so wrong
In my heart am rejoicing, how I wish they could see
Thank you Lord for your blessings on meThere is a roof up above me; I have a good place to sleep
There is food on my table and shoes on my feet
You gave me your love Lord and a fine family,
Thank You Lord for your blessings on me.I know I’m not wealthy and these clothes they are not new
I don’t have much money, but Lord I have you
And that’s all that matters, though the world may not see
Thank you Lord for your blessings on me
What a powerful illustration of the importance of expressing gratitude to God. May you be thankful this week for all the many blessings in your lives!