A Heart of Thanksgiving

This was the speech I gave on 26 Nov, for my Project 10 to Inspire Your Audience:

2014 will come to an end in a month's time, it is a good time to take stock of how our year has been. To give thanks, to reflect and spend time with our family.

In fact do you know that in a day's time, it will be thanksgiving day? Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated primarily in America as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and for the preceding year.

How has your year been? Are you able to give thanks for your year? For some of us it has been a good year maybe you had a promotion or a new addition to your family. For others it has been a year of transition with house move and new roles at work. And for some it could have been a painful year with the lost of a loved one or a loved one being hospitalised.
You do not need to raise your hands, but on a scale of 1 to 10.. 1 being it has been the worse year ever and 10 being it has been a wonderful year, how would you rate 2014?

If you are like a typical Singaporean, well they say Singaporeans like to complain. We complain about the MRT, COE, ERP, and most often of all about the PAP.

Singapore’s GDP per capita is one of the highest in the world, and yet all signs point to the fact that Singaporeans are also one of the unhappiest people in the world based on a survey by Gallup.

They say that laughter is like medicine for the soul. How can we be happier?

How can you end this year with a joyful and thankful heart?

I want to share two points using two stories.

The first is that we can give thanks by being grateful for what we have.

The first story is still very vivid to me. This took place about a week ago, I was awoken at 1am with the sound of heavy breathing from my husband. I walked out with him to the living room, and he was in such pain that he could barely open his eyes. I can still vividly remember his expression. He was sweating profusely. He was having a bad pain on the right temple of his head.

I was very worried and I decided to take a taxi to the hospital. When the taxi reached the a&e, someone wheeled a wheelchair for him and then shortly after he was wheeled into the emergency room. It was a long and worrisome wait for me. I waited there for an hr while he was being examined then the doc came out and told me that they were doing a CT scan for him. After another hr they said that he was to be warded for further investigations tho the CT scan didn't seem to show anything sinister.

When I saw him, his pain had subsided. I went home at the advice of the nurse and rested for about 2 hrs before coming out again to visit him where he was warded.

The next day, the doctor told us it was very unusual for a sudden onset of headache. They were concerned if there was any bleeding in the head. They have to do two other tests including getting fluid from the spine to test the brain fluid. I began to text my friends and relatives to keep my husband in prayer.

That evening as i went home, I was very heavy hearted, I was very fearful. I did not dare to switch off my hp for fear that the hospital will call me. I was fearful, and the fear of losing my husband was very real. You know many times we think that we men are in control of our lives, but at that point in time, When things happened so suddenly I felt helpless and knew that men are not in control of our lives and i could only pray and trust God's plan.

With much fear, the results were released. Thankfully, the tests turned out negative. There was no bleeding in the brain. The doctor said it might be due to stress. I was so thankful. It was the feeling like i had a second chance to live with my husband. I imagined the worse, but it turned out fine. Even now, i am giving thanks daily and am grateful to hear the music of my husband's snoring.

For first pt is that we can cherish and be thankful for what we have.

When was the last time you praised the Lord for the gift of being alive?

My second pt is that we can give thanks in spite of our adversities.

Nick Vujicic is a man who was born without any limbs. He suffered from depression when he was younger wondering why he was born this way and laughed at at school. You would think that naturally he would be a very negative person. Do you know that now he is married and has a beautiful baby with his wife.

He says "In life you have a choice: Bitter or Better? Choose better, forget bitter"

Many men who are full bodied are not as happy as him, why? It is because of our attitude.


How would you end this year? Will you end the year in defeat because of the challenges you face, or will you give thanks for being alive, and appreciate your loved ones?

I urge you friends, to treasure each moment of your life, and to end the year with a heart of thanksgiving.