Give Thanks

His name is Matthew Walter Mershon and he was born in 1955 at Fort Knox, Kentucky to Bill and Ann Mershon. Shortly after Matthew’s birth, his father (who was active duty), was sent overseas and upon his fathers return, he had changed and became abusive. Matthew’s parents divorced...and, in the 1950’s there was no child support and Matthew’s mom worked odd jobs trying to make money by which to care for her son. Winter came and Matthew’s mom had to do the hardest thing in her life, as she could not keep her son warm in the car that they lived in. Matthew’s mom took her son to an orphanage. As she stood watching another woman holding her son, she prayed, “God if I am a good woman and you love me let me see my Matthew again before I die. And God, may my Matthew grow up to be a man of God and know that I love him and this is killing me to do this but I want him to live and have a better life.” Then she turned with tears in her eyes and walked out of the orphanage, leaving her baby son and knowing he would be taken care of with a chance to live. 

With despair in her heart Matthew’s mom walked for years longing to once again see her little boy and praying for his safety. Giving thanks at Thanksgiving, that she was able to save her baby boy’s life but always praying for the ultimate Thanksgiving gift, her baby boy in her arms once again and that he would be a man of God.

Today in the Tremont City United Methodist Church, is Thanksgiving Sunday and sometimes in life we may feel all alone, barren, thinking that God is not listening to our prayers. Such was Hannah in the Old Testament Book of 1 Samuel, who felt barren as she prayed for God to give her a son who she would raise to be a man of God to go and serve God. 

1 Samuel 1:27-28

For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted my petition 
which I made to the Lord. Therefore I give him to the Lord; as 
long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.

1 Samuel 2:1-10:

Hannah also prayed and said, “My heart rejoices in the Lord; 
my strength rejoices in the Lord. My mouth decries my 
enemies, because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none 
holy like the Lord, there is none beside thee; there is no rock 
like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance 
come from your mouth; form the Lord is a God of knowledge, 
and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are 
broken, but the feeble gird on strength. Those who were full 
have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were 
hungry have ceased no hunger. The barren have borne seven, 
but she who has many children is forlorn. The Lord kills and 
brings to life; he brings down to hell and raises up. The Lord 
makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also celebrates. 
He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the 
ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of 
honor. For the pillar’s of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them 
he has set the world. He will guard the feet of His faithful ones; 
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness; for not by might 
shall a man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be 
broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The 
Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his 
king, and proclaim the power of his anointed.

In your life, what do you have to be thankful for? How has God answered the barrenness in your life? Are you entering Thanksgiving carrying a bag of garbage, unhappiness from the past that tends to stink up the present, because God in His wisdom did not answer your prayers the way you wanted Him to answer you. Forgetting that God will answer our prayers, not necessarily the way we pray but in God’s wisdom. God who can move mountains; and sometimes takes us over them. For the little boys name Matthew means “A gift from God, and Walter means “Mighty warrior.” Matthew’s momma gave birth to a baby boy she had prayed to have with her husband, a home, a place to raise their son who would be safe and they could watch their baby boy grow into a man.

God did not answer her prayers the way she had prayed for, but she kept her faith in God that “A gift from God,” “Mighty warrior” would be a survivor and if it were God’s will that one day she and her son would be reunited. All along she felt the pain God must have felt knowing what was going to happen to His only Son. That Jesus would die on the cross and Ann did not give upon her faith.

For as Jesus sat in the Upper Room with His disciples, He took the bread, broke it and said, “Take eat, this is my body broken for you. Eat this often in remembrance of me. Then after supper Jesus took the cup and said, “Take, drink, this is my blood of the New Covenant, shed for the forgiveness of many. Drink this often in remembrance of me.”

The year is 1994, Matthew’s mom answered her phone to hear a male voice on the other end asking a question. “Hi, I am trying to find someone and I was wondering if you were in the hospital in May 1955, at Fort Knox, Kentucky and if you gave birth to a little boy?” Matthew’s mom swallowed hard with a lump in her throat and tears began building up in her eyes as she took one last breath and cautiously asked, “Who is this?” The voice on the other end replied, “Mom, it’s me…your son….” 

With tears flowing down her face she replied, “OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD...MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED. I AM A GOOD WOMAN; A WOMAN OF GOD AND GOD LOVES ME. OH MY GOD, I HAVE WAITED FOR YEARS FOR THIS PHONE CALL AND HURT EVERY HOLIDAY AND ON YOUR BIRTHDAY, EVERY YEAR. I PRAY THAT YOU ARE NOT MAD AT ME BUT I WANTED TO SAVE YOUR LIFE. WHEN CAN I HOLD YOU AND HUG YOU ONCE AGAIN IN MY ARMS. THANK YOU GOD, THANK YOU, AND OH GOD, THANK YOU...FOR THIS IS MY BABY ON THE PHONE TALKING TO ME. THANK YOU BABY FOR BEING MAN ENOUGH TO PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL ME. I LOVE YOU; OH I’VE LIVED FOR THIS MOMENT TO HEAR YOU…. HOW ARE YOU?” ...Matthew and his mother cried together on the phone, for they both had prayed to God for thirty-nine years and God never turned His back on them. Her baby grew to be a man of God. 

In our lives, we need to remember daily that what we ask God for may not come as soon as we want, or as we asked for, but God in His timing and infinite wisdom has a plan for our lives. In God’s wisdom and timing God will answer our prayers. 

This Thanksgiving, trust in God when you cannot see the future and know that God listens to all of His children individually and give thanks. 

Let us pray,

Give thanks with a thankful heart; give thanks for the Holy One, Give thanks because He gave His only Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Praise the LORD, all the nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us; and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!    Amen.

11/19/2006 JWM


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