It Is Good to Be Thankful: Appreciation makes the world a better place…
Three lady friends and I were out for a night on the town. We were going to dinner and then the symphony. What fun! After dinner we shared an elevator with a middle-aged man. We chatted with him and found out he was headed for the symphony, too. Since we were within walking distance but not sure which way to go we said, “Great! We’ll follow you.”
He good naturedly replied, “That would be like the blind leading the blind.”
There was dead silence, the kind that only lasts a second but seems like a lifetime. You see, my friend Rose is blind. It was apparent by the man’s expression that he wanted the earth to open and swallow him up.
Most of us know how that feels. We’ve all made thoughtless statements we wish we could suck back into our head. They aren’t meant to hurt. They’re mistakes, faux pas, blunders, or slips of the tongue. We know they are wrong the minute we say them but it’s too late. We all strive to listen to a matter fully before responding, think before we speak, or keep our mouths shut. However, we all “open the mouth and insert the foot” occasionally.
When we do, it would be nice to have someone like my blind friend Rose around. She didn’t miss a beat as she chuckled and graciously said, “Oh, you want me to lead then, huh?” The man sighed and we all laughed.
I’m reminded of Proverbs 25:11: “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in setting of silver.”
Usually we think of the word fitly spoken as advice or encouragement. But to me, true “apples of gold” is this ability to turn an uncomfortable situation around by simply saying the right words.
Some fitly spoken words can be very powerful. Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country” inspired us. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” influenced us. Churchill’s “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…” evoked confidence during World War II. When George Burns said, “Say good night, Gracie,” it made us smile.
As for me, I’m a simple person. I’m not out to change the world. I would settle for being able to set that other person at ease so they don’t have to feel as foolish as I do sometimes. That’s why I’m thankful for people like Rose. Her example makes me want to be a better person.
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“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord...” ~ Psalms 92:1 (KJV)
