Chuck Compton is pastor at the Flora Presbyterian Church. Thanksgiving season is coming and we will probably have someone say to us "Be Thankful!" I pray that we do not consider this to be an order, but an invitation to a wonderful experience for our lives. We have become so accustomed to thinking of Thanksgiving in terms of gratitude for material blessings and nature's bounty that we find it hard to think in terms of being grateful for God's good gifts that are hidden in experiences we fear, resist and try to avoid. This year with the financial crisis and an uncertain political future in our country, it would be very easy to "dig in our heels" in fear and resist any change that might be coming.

Would you consider for a moment a possible change in our approach to this season of thanksgiving?

• Let us thank God for the opposition we have had to meet, the resistance that has forced us to put forth our best effort, the disputes that have compelled us to reexamine our arguments and eliminate the flaws.

• Let us thank God for the struggles that have caused us to grow, the defeats that have kept us humble, the losses that have made us cautious, and the dangers that have kept us alert.

• Let us thank God for the risks we have had to take, that have brought out hidden strengths.

• Let us thank God for some of the enemies we have made, for to have no enemies means that we have not taken issue with wrong, defied any evil, or rallied to the defense of the oppressed.

• Let us thank God for our critics who tell us the truth about ourselves.

• Above all, let us thank God that good has often come out of evil; that struggles we would have preferred to avoid have turned into blessings; that confident in His love and goodness, we have found strength and courage to face whatever comes - to "run the race that is set before us."

Happy Thanksgiving!