The Tomahawk., 1923-11-22
BY
NATHAN HOWARD GIST
in Grit

lESMkS|I Is not very great. But 1t
l4s sometimes costs great
JSNIMSA deal not to say 1t. Not to
llAAElH say 1t costs friends, self-re-
spect and surrender OF
those sacred instincts which give life
its stability, and power, and sweetness.
The one who says Thanks" In
blessed with the virtue Of gratitude, Is
a king among his fellows, and leader
of his kind. He possesses the first
qualities necessary to manliness. Those
qualities include other rare qualities.
That person Is like a welcome beacon
light on a dark night. 1t Is pleas
ure to serve such one.
The one who lacks this finer sense Is
to be pitied. He soon becomes lonely
and desolate. None care to serve him,
for he Is unappreclative. He lives a
miserable lfe because he Is never
awake to the fact that he Is a recip-
ent of the good and Indispensable
things of life. His own ingratitude 10
his worst enemy.
. The value Of Thanksgiving lies In
the reminder it gives us. that none
too often do We say, Thanks" The
season also suggests that we may we'll
say Thank you" The expressing of
that sentiment does one good. He
from Whom all blessings flow Is enti-
tied to an expression of our gratitude.
That Is mans chief blessing--the pres
ence Of an Infinite God who created
him, In Whom man lives and moves
and has his being, and to Whom he
again shall 60.
Next to this holy privilege is mans
brother man. Each one should be
grateful in the depths Of the soul for
friendships, for fellowship with those
about, and for the opportunity Of serv-
Ice. Among life's rarest blessings are
those which claim our devotion and
our share Of the worlds work.
We should be thankful for adversely
more than for prosperity. The best
discipline comes through adverse cir
cumstances. That Is the best teacher.
Superior lumber comes from trees that
have long been dashed by storm and
tempest. Without hard times and bit
terness men would soon become as
cattle, grazing knee-deep in the mead
ow, with no concern and no achieve
ments worthy Of more than passing
notice
For the blessing Of work, hard work,
men should be thankful. He who re-
CARDS work as q cursed hardship that
should have no place in mans life
needs to readjust his program. He
who fulfills his every task for the fun
there Is in 1t Is getting the most out Of
life. Many q man who inherits a for
tune from his father does not know the
value Of things until the crash comes
and he loses his fortune. He applies
himself to his task. He gathers up the
tools of wasted life. He builds his
lifes house again. He makes another
fortune. This Is because adversely,
disappointment, hard work put that
man on his mettle and brought out the
best he had.
Not all of life's blessings are those
measured by health, fortune, position
and honor. More often they are the
things which bring forth and develop
the fiber Of the individual.
Thanksgiving season should take in
to account the habits Of thrift and in
dustry, the disposition to live wisely
and well, contentment with small
means, and the riches Of patience and
perseverance. He who loves God, fell
low man, lives honOrably, and leaves
the world better than he found it Is
he who knows the blessedness Of graft.
tude. Others also are grateful to him
for sowing the good seed of a we'll
spent life.