Anna’s Story | by Linda Brendle
Published in the Rains County Leader on November 24, 2022:
Last week I shared a post I called Counting or Complaining about counting your blessings. This column will be in the edition released on Thanksgiving Day, and I want to share one of my favorite stories about gratitude from a column I shared in 2014.
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On Sunday, Pastor Jason preached about being thankful – yours probably did, too. The sermon was enlightening and inspiring, but what really stuck with me was a comment he made in his introductory remarks: “I’ve always thought we should devote 364 days a year to being thankful and set aside only one day for grumbling and complaining.”
This time of year, a lot of people talk about cultivating an attitude of gratitude, but sometimes the resolve doesn’t last long. It takes time to develop a daily habit of being thankful. In keeping with that thought, I’d like to share a story about a lady who knew what it meant to be grateful. This true account of Anna, a woman who was born into slavery in Maryland, is used by many ministers this time of year, but it was originally told by Fulton Oursler.
Oursler remembered eating with Anna as she sat in his home with her hard, old black hands folded, “Much obliged, dear Lord, for my vittles.”
“But Anna,” he pointed out, “you’d get your vittles whether you thanked the Lord or not.”
“Sure,” she responded, “but it makes everything taste better to be thankful.”
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