A Thankful Heart

I'm sure many of you are familiar with this photo:

Grace by Enstrom Image Credit

This hung from the wall of my grandmother (Bumby) and grandfather's (Poppy) home for years.  It now hangs in the home of my Mom and Dad.  It is a very simple picture that is so interesting.  It is funny how something so ordinary and simple can invoke complicated thoughts and emotions.  I can remember looking at it from the eyes of a small boy to today.

Just looking at it, the word Gratitude comes to mind.  Here is a very ordinary man bowed in prayer.  It is sort of dark and dreary in the room - a room devoid of any decoration or frills.  The gentleman is not threadbare, but he's not elaborately dressed either.  He seems to be clean and humble.

There are very few items in the photo - a simple loaf of bread, for one.  It immediately makes me think of "Give us this day, our Daily Bread..." from the Lord's Prayer. There is a knife to cut the bread with.  Then there is a bowl with a spoon in it. Whatever it is, it looks very plain, maybe broth or a simple soup.  Finally, there is a big book.  I'm going to assume it is a Bible.  And then there are glasses that convey that the man's eyesight is not what it once was.  He is a humble man of humble means.

Then there's what you don't see.  The man is alone.  Or is he?  I think his God is with him.  I would imagine that he doesn't merely read the Bible, he studies it, deliberately. He mines out the Truth.  He depends upon the wisdom found therein like the very air he breathes.  I would think that in studying, he has come to know His Creator and is thankful for what he has.  The man's demeanor signifies to me that his happiness, his joy, his faith, is not dependent upon health and wealth.  His love for God is not conditional upon material things. He has come to a deep understanding of what true treasure is from those beloved words of Jesus:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

I used to listen to Paul Harvey at lunchtime when I was farming.  I always liked his "Rest of the Story" commentaries.  Here is the story behind the picture or painting of Grace from This Website:

THE STORY OF "GRACE" A much-loved world famous picture
		Back in the year of 1918, a bearded, saintly, old man, with foot-scrapers to sell, called on Eric Enstrom at his photography studio in the tiny mining town of Bovey, Minnesota.From this chance encounter a world famous photographic study was created. Today Enstrom's picture "GRACE", showing the elderly peddler with head bowed in a mealtime prayer of thanksgiving, is known and loved throughout the world. "There was something about the old gentleman's face that immediately impressed me. I saw that he had a kind face... there weren't any harsh lines in it," Enstrom said in recalling the 1918 visit of Charles Wilden to his studio. It happened that Enstrom, at that time, was preparing a portfolio of pictures to take with him to a convention of the Minnesota Photographer's Association. "I wanted to take a picture that would show people that even though they had to do without many things because of the war they still had much to be thankful for," Enstom said. On a small table, Enstrom placed a family book, some spectacles, a bowl of gruel, a loaf of bread, and a knife on the table. Then he had Wilden pose in an manner of prayer... praying with folded hands to his brow before partaking of a meager meal. To bow his head in prayer seemed to be characteristic of the elderly visitor, Enstrom recalled, for he struck the pose very easily and naturally. As soon as the negative was developed, Enstrom was sure he had something special... a picture that seemed to say, "This man doesn't have much of earthly goods, but he has more than most people because he has a thankful heart." That Enstrom's camera had captured "something special" is an appraisal widely shared. Today many "GRACE" pictures hang in homes, restaurants and in churches across America. Prints have also been shipped to mission stations and other places around the world. The early "GRACE" pictures were printed either in black and white, or in sepia (brown tone). Later, Enstrom's daughter, Mrs. Rhoda Nyberg, of Coleraine, Minnesota, began hand-painting them in oils, and interest in the picture mounted. Enstrom remembers that his best customers for the picture in the early 1920's were people traveling through Bovey, Minnesota who saw the picture in his studio window. As soon as one framed print was sold, he'd make another to take its place. After nearly a half-century as a professional photographer, a career dating back to 1900 in Minneapolis and to 1907 at Bovey, Minnesota, Enstrom listed "GRACE" as the best of the thousands of pictures he has taken.

Mr. Enstrom did indeed capture "something special" with that photograph and it is a good reminder to me to work on having an attitude of gratitude and thankfulness. I'm reminded of the third verse to the old hymn, " Count Your Blessings," by Johnson Oatman, Jr.:

When you look at others with their lands and gold, 

Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold,

Count your many blessings money cannot buy, 

Your reward in Heaven, nor your home on high.

Count your blessings name them one by one,

Count your blessings, see what God hath done,

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

Amen!