Lk 17:11-19 The Gifts We Take For Granted

Thanksgiving 2014

By FAITH NOAH

And when he saw them, he said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
As they were going they were cleansed. 
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. 

The other day I saw a video (link tohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpA-FsKLA6A ) about a girl named Kayla Montgomery, diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at age 14. When her symptoms appeared, she would lose feeling in her legs. With medication, she could reduce the effect of these symptoms, but she was no longer allowed to play soccer, her favorite sport.

Instead, she picked up cross-country. She was a slow runner, but she told her coach, Patrick Cromwell, to push her to be the best she could be.

By senior year, she was competing in state competitions. However, she was no ordinary runner. Every race, at the one mile mark, her body temperature increased, triggering her MS symptoms. She could still run, but she felt nothing. Unable to come to a coordinated stop after the race, she relied upon her coach to help her at finish line as her legs gave out. As she crossed—and collapsed—he would catch her, carry her, and give her water and ice to cool down.

Every race, Kayla collapses. Every race, she moans and pleads for water as she is carried away. Why go through that? Why do it?

"Since I know that my mobility is a gift right now, I guess I make every day that I run as best I can, so I don't waste that gift,” Kayla says.

Kayla falls down after each race, but she doesn’t fall with bitterness or anger, cursing her limitations. She falls down victoriously. She falls down in thanksgiving. She falls down because she has given her all; for those few miles, she has conquered her limitations.

Like the cleansed leper who falls down at Jesus’ feet, we are called to humble ourselves in thanksgiving, recognizing, despite our limitations, all that Christ has done for us.

He doesn’t ask for this praise. In fact, He didn’t even tell the lepers to return to thank Him. Rather, He told them toleave. It was the thankful leper who disobeyed, who came back to Jesus. He put off being declared clean, being reintegrated into Jewish society, because He recognized that thanking God was more important.

That’s the price we must pay as Christians. Thanking God is our first priority. Amid joy and amid pain, God has blessed us. There’s no denying that.

So if you have encountered great blessings in your life, go thank God. And if you have encountered great woes…go thank God.

In the end, we all have something to be thankful for.

People like Kayla serve as examples of the fact that even amid suffering and limitations, God is calling us to greatness. He’s calling us to find the wonderful things He has in store for us, to run the race, and to run so as to win.

And at the end of the race, when we have given it our all, He is waiting at the finish line, ready to catch us as we, like Kayla, fall to His feet in thanksgiving.

Thank God we have the opportunity to run this race. So let’s run it well. Happy Thanksgiving!

Faith Noah graduated from Ursuline Academy way back in 2014 and was valedictorian of her class.  She is currently a student at Vanderbilt University and contributes to this blog whenever she can.  She is an outstanding young lady with amazing grace and faith.