Good Morning!
When I was a kid I never liked it when at Thanksgiving, before we got to dig into the cornbread dressing and the sweet potato casserole and the turkey and cranberry sauce, we had to take a minute to go around the family circle and say what we were thankful for. It took some thinking on your feet, especially when they said, “now, don’t just say my family. Or my friends. Or my dog.” I must admit that those, along with my latest doll or stuffed animal were my standbys. Thinking any more deeply about my level of gratitude was always a challenge.
If I could go back now, and stand around that table, I know what I would say. I would say, “I am grateful for my mother’s blue eyes that look at me and teach me what love is. I am grateful for this little house that keeps me safe and warm on a cold winter night. I am grateful for my friend the crow that wakes me up every morning and reminds me that his too is the voice of God. I am thankful for all the scary times in life when I must pull up all my courage so that I can learn what it means to be fully me. I am thankful for each tomorrow because I know that God is there waiting.”
The older I get, the less patience I have with people who get their kicks out of being miserable. That really gets boring after a while. I have a feeling they just don’t know how to be thankful. I have a feeling that if they spent the same amount of time marveling at the green of pine trees against a blue sky as they did singing “poor, pitiful me”, they would find that what Willie Nelson said is true: “When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”
So, what are you grateful for this Thanksgiving? Dig deep. Give it some serious thought. It might transform your common old days into a surprising new life!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endureth forever. (Psalm 136:1) That is something for which to be thankful!!!!
Tomorrow’s worship service will be all about Thanksgiving and Gratitude. Hope you will be there!
I am thankful too for each of you and for the life of our church. We are entering the season of Advent, that special time of waiting for the Christ Child. There’s lots going on!
Also…………………
The Longest Night
Saturday, December 21 at 5:00 – 5:45 PM
A special service for the community and for remembering those in your lives whose chair will be empty this Christmas.
Sit in the silence.
Light a candle for your loved one who has died….
And be thankful for their lives.
I love you all!
In deep gratitude,
Rev. Martha