Washington Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president

At family reunions on my wife’s side, I have heard a story multiple times about a time when some cousins came to visit.

During one particular mealtime, my wife’s father asked one of the young cousins to say the blessing over the food. The cousin took this very seriously and started thanking God for all the different food items on the table. As he was peeking to make sure he didn’t miss any of the items, his eyes rested on a bowl of green peas. That is when his prayer took a different route. Instead of thanking God for the peas, he said, “God don’t bless the peas. I don’t like those peas.”  This story has become legend at the family reunion and causes a chuckle every time it is told.

Being thankful for all that God has given is an important aspect of walking daily with God.

Some Orthodox Jewish people actually practice an intentional way of giving thanks or a blessing. They say 100 blessings per day. They not only give thanks before the meal, but they also give thanks after the meal. They also will go around the table and thank God for the different dishes on the table and the very ingredients that are in those items.

They celebrate the aroma and the tastes in their prayers.

There are so many miracles in our world that happen so very often that we fail to pause and be thankful. Linguistic researchers have determined that many languages have a negative bias because there are significantly more synonyms for bad things than good things.

What if we started looking at the amazing things that are all around us?

The intricacies of a flower petal. The majesty of the mountains all around. The variety of plants, food, and even people that God has created. All are things to be thankful and give praise to God for.

I Thessalonians 5: 16-18 states,

Let’s all give thanks this week for all the wonder that is around us. Yes, let’s even give thanks for the peas.