admin
11-21-2006, 07:17 PM
Have You Taken Inventory Lately?
The renown teacher and author Dr. David McLennon tells a story of his very
first job in a small town general store. This was the day before mails and
supermarket chains at least it was in his community. At age thirteen he was
hired as a handy boy. He would sweep the flour, bag items for customers, put
up stock. On one particular Saturday, he recalled., he heard the owner say
to one of the clerks "It’s that time of the year again, it’s time to take
inventory." Dr. McLennon Wrote that this was a word that had not yet entered
into his vocabulary. When an opportune moment arrived, he went up to the
kindly older man and asked, Sir, what is an inventory? Patiently the owner
explained that it was a time when you made a list of everything that you
had--from groceries on the shelves to wrapping paper and string. Still
somewhat puzzled, the young McLennon then asked, Why?
"Well, responded the owner, its easy to forget exactly how much you have
each year. Every now and then you have to take an inventory just to see what
all you have."
That little story, to me, pretty well sums up what Thanksgiving is all
about. It is a time when each of us needs to ask ourselves the question:
Have I taken inventory of my life lately? Have I made an effort to count all
the things that I do have in life instead of complaining about the things
that I don’t have. It is a good exercise especially when we are of a mind to
brood or whine in self pity. Have you taken inventory lately?
What I am suggesting here is not some shallow "count your blessings"
platitude. But from time to time, in a genuine kind of a way, we need to sit
down and do some talking to ourselves about all of the gifts and
opportunities and challenges that God has given each one of us. Perhaps
there is a deep underlying wisdom in the children's poem that says: "Count
your blessings one by one, and you might be surprised what the Lord has
done."
Author Unknown
The renown teacher and author Dr. David McLennon tells a story of his very
first job in a small town general store. This was the day before mails and
supermarket chains at least it was in his community. At age thirteen he was
hired as a handy boy. He would sweep the flour, bag items for customers, put
up stock. On one particular Saturday, he recalled., he heard the owner say
to one of the clerks "It’s that time of the year again, it’s time to take
inventory." Dr. McLennon Wrote that this was a word that had not yet entered
into his vocabulary. When an opportune moment arrived, he went up to the
kindly older man and asked, Sir, what is an inventory? Patiently the owner
explained that it was a time when you made a list of everything that you
had--from groceries on the shelves to wrapping paper and string. Still
somewhat puzzled, the young McLennon then asked, Why?
"Well, responded the owner, its easy to forget exactly how much you have
each year. Every now and then you have to take an inventory just to see what
all you have."
That little story, to me, pretty well sums up what Thanksgiving is all
about. It is a time when each of us needs to ask ourselves the question:
Have I taken inventory of my life lately? Have I made an effort to count all
the things that I do have in life instead of complaining about the things
that I don’t have. It is a good exercise especially when we are of a mind to
brood or whine in self pity. Have you taken inventory lately?
What I am suggesting here is not some shallow "count your blessings"
platitude. But from time to time, in a genuine kind of a way, we need to sit
down and do some talking to ourselves about all of the gifts and
opportunities and challenges that God has given each one of us. Perhaps
there is a deep underlying wisdom in the children's poem that says: "Count
your blessings one by one, and you might be surprised what the Lord has
done."
Author Unknown