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Of course we want to be adult. We don’t want to be too foolish. But there is such a thing as the game of life, and there must be a way to play it so that when we go to bed at night we shan’t carry too much of the hurt of the day into a restless sleep; so that when we wake in the morning we shall anticipate something that promises to be wonderful and exhilarating.

You see, this is the way we are made, and God never makes mistakes. There is nothing wrong with This Thing Called Life, for whatever seems wrong with it is the way we are living it and not Life itself. If we are not getting the most out of life it must be because we are not putting the most in it.

This week we are going to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. But Thanksgiving is more than a day to serve turkey and dressing and eat brown gravy on mashed potatoes. It really means that we should be grateful for life; that we should praise the Giver of all good and that we should gratefully acknowledge the priceless heritage of a free and noble people.

But how much time do we spend in affirming the good things of life, in recognizing that which is best in ourselves and others? In the exaltation of his spirit the Psalmist exclaimed: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”

Mrs. Luther Burbank told me that her husband used to talk to his plants and tell them exactly what he planted them to do. A friend of mine, who trained the famous dog, Strongheart, talks to animals just as surely as you and I talk with each other, and just so surely do they respond. There is a principle here. If plants and animals and children respond to praise, why won’t everything else?