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I remember seeing a cartoon some years ago that made a rather suggestive division of the human race.  Though I do not recall the name of the cartoonist, I vividly recall the cartoon.  The cartoonist has two women at a well.  Each has a bucket with which to draw water.  One woman looking sad and bitter remarks.  “Life is terrible-every time I fill this bucket, it is empty within minutes.”  The other who appears at peace with herself replies, “I think life is wonderful.  Every time this bucket is empty I can fill it again.”

Now, these two women represent two different attitudes toward life.  One is negative and focuses on what’s wrong with life, while the other is positive and focuses on the best of life.  One expresses bitterness while the other expresses gratitude.  They each have a choice to make.

Thanksgiving Day recalls the pilgrims on the beach at Plymouth and reminds us of the kind of people who built this country.  There were 102 of them on the Mayflower.  That small ship was tossed about by the mighty Atlantic as though it were nothing but a cork.  Then after many dreary days and scary nights, these people reached Massachusetts in the cold of winter.  There were no modern hotels to provide them with comfortable lodging.  There was nothing but cold dense forests filled with wild animals and strange people.  The pilgrims were hungry, and their food supply was running out.  The first winter was frigid and heartbreaking.  They had to bury half their colony (wives, husbands, and children) in the frozen ground.

However, what people these were!  No doubt that many of them became demoralized, depressed, and resentful, but evidently the majority of them chose to make the most of what they had left.  They focused on the positive rather than the negative and even designated a special day to give thanks to God.  These pilgrims had a choice to make.

The apostle Paul was in prison, and he, too, had a choice to make.  No doubt he could have been bitter and focused on the negative.  After all, he was in prison.  He had lost much, including his freedom.  But instead, Paul chose to focus on the positive.  He focused on all that was right, on what he still had.  I would imagine that Paul’s letter to the Philippians is addressed as much to himself as it was to them.  Here he is in prison but listen to Paul’s words.  Rather than complaining about his circumstances, he writes, “With thanksgiving let your request be made known to God”(Philippians 4:6).

While it is true that we cannot always determine what happens to us, it is equally true that we can determine our response to what happens to us.  The question is, will we be negative and complaining and dwell on the minuses?  Or will we be positive, determined, and grateful?  “With Thanksgiving, ”Paul said, the choice is ours to make.  But during this Thanksgiving season that is upon us and beyond, I want to cast a vote for being positive, determined, and grateful.