A Place of Thanksgiving

After surviving some great crisis or recovering from an illness, many people are motivated to give thanks. In Exodus 16 and 17, we are told how Moses led the Hebrews into the desert. When the people complained that they were thirsty, God told Moses to take his rod and strike the rock at Horeb. Water poured from the rock, the people drank, and then they praised the Lord.

Isn’t it strange that some people give thanks only when something good happens? It’s very easy to thank God when we get what we want, but what about when we do not?

A man in a wheelchair said he came to Chimayo every year just to thank God for giving him another year of life. "When I got sick, no one gave me much hope. The doctors told me I would never walk again. So I came to Chimayo, hoping that if I made the pilgrimage, God would work a miracle for me. Once I got here, I saw a lot of people who were worse off than I. Some were blind, others couldn’t move their arms or legs, and some didn’t even seem to know what was going on around them. But they all seemed so full of love and hope, I decided right then and there that I would offer my pilgrimage in thanksgiving for the gift God had given me, instead of begging him to take my pain away."