DEVOTIONAL
Thanksgiving in April Steve Whitten (‘79)
As I sit here in my office on our new campus at San Diego Christian looking north to the mountains I am struck by a deep and abiding sense of gratefulness. God has been so good. San Diego Christian has been a part of my life both as a student and as a faculty member. Now I am looking out of my window to the mountains in the north and see the bustling activity on the campus below, I am so grateful, what an amazing God we serve. I know this is the month of April, but I am overcome with a spirit of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. After all, Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. It harkens back to a time when William Bradford wrote these words “ I now your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye pilgrims, with your wives and little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the daytime, on Thursday, November ye 29th of the year 1623, and the third year since ye pilgrims landed on ye Plymouth Rock, there listen to ye pastor, and render thanksgiving to ye almighty God for all His blessings.” Those pilgrims had suffered through 2 harsh winters and would not likely have lived through a third if not for the kindness of the Native Americans who took pity on them and provided them with the means of
survival. The difficult time that they had endured gave them a perspective that they would not have had otherwise. The same is true for us today. As we reflect on all that we have been through and where God has brought us we give thanks, not just for his provision, but for the journey as well. God is faithful. Giving thanks is a choice we make. It requires us to take our eyes off of ourselves for a moment and direct them outward.
complain, be negative or covetous or depressed. A grateful heart will drive out all of these negative elements that can dominate our lives and replace them with the fruits of the spirit. So, I am declaring every Thursday of every month for the rest of the year to be a day of thanksgiving. As one of my best friends is always careful to remind me, “we have a lot to be thankful for.”
Giving thanks is a choice we make when we stop focusing on what we don’t have and give thanks for all that God has provided. If we are not thankful for what we have we are not likely to be thankful for what we hope to get. Giving thanks is a choice to accept, nay embrace the circumstances in our lives that we do not have the power to change and look at them as opportunities for growth. Giving thanks is a continuing attitude of acknowledgement that every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. An attitude of thankfulness is a sign of spiritual health. We cannot be thankful and simultaneously
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Right to Left: Steve, Marguerite, and their grandson Lee. Steve married Marguerite in April of 1981 and God has blessed him with four children and one grandchild. He loves shepherding and mentoring SDC students so that they can impact the world for Christ.