Learning To Be Thankful

As we walked through the door into the chapel of the City Union Mission, a few men were already in their seats, reading, sleeping, just glad to be out of the cold. I took a step up onto the small stage to plug in my acoustic guitar so I could practice with my friends, Noah and Dan, before service started. We ran through our Christmas hymns and then sat down, waiting for Chaplain Charles to take the mic and greet the couple hundred men.

“Good evening saints.”

He talked briefly, then some men from the Mission stood up to begin a song they had prepared. A few men sang, and one man, who was self-taught, played the piano.

“Because He lives I can face tomorrow, because He lives all fear is gone, because I know, He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.”

Wow. I could tell that they meant it.

Then, we were up.

Noah took his spot at the piano, Dan went up to the mic and I grabbed a guitar pick.

We sang through our Christmas songs, with many of the men singing along. Then, we started our last song — “Victory In Jesus”.

“I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory, how He gave His life on Calvary, to save a wretch like me…”

As we would sing, the men would follow along enthusiastically, some following along in their hymnals, others recalling the words from memory.

“Then I repented of my sin, and won the Victory!”

Individual shouts of “Victory!” rang as we continued on into the chorus.

When I sat down after singing, I had learned something about the men at the Mission: just because they were homeless didn’t mean that they were going to be dim and gloomy. All they had was the joy of Christ, and for them, that was enough. They were actually living out what the hymns say — Jesus dying on the cross to pay for their sins was truly enough to satisfy them. They knew that once this short, fleeting life was over, they’d be in Heaven, with no worries, troubles or pain.

Since last December, I’ve been going to the City Union Mission, a homeless shelter downtown, to help with the evening chapel service every third Thursday of the month. Some men from my church, including my dad, had been going to preach for some time, but since it was Christmas time they thought it would be nice if my friends and I went along to lead worship. I went into the service thinking we would be encouraging them, but it was the other way around. They had encouraged us. By getting to see how strong of Christians they were and their great attitudes, I had discovered a different way to look at my own life.

I’ll be the first to confess that even though I have a great life and have been blessed with so much, I’m not the best at being thankful. I take so many things for granted: that there will be food in the fridge every day, that I’ll sleep in a warm bed at home each night, that there will be money in my wallet. Aspects of life that seem automatic and routine for me aren’t so automatic for many who don’t even know where they’re going to sleep or what they’re going to eat next.

It’s something the men at the Mission already are doing.