From the Pastor - Gratitude

Gratitude: n. A warm and deep appreciation for kindnesses and benefits received. Thankfulness. Indicating a disposition to express such appreciation, often a sense of deliverance as well. That through the goodness of another, our lives are made richer. Define it any way you like, gratitude and thankfulness are always able to be felt and expressed. Even in the darkest moments of our lives can we find something for which to be thankful. Challenges and difficulties can indeed be life-giving, and often the very exercise of searching for something good can help us to get out of the dark. There is not one person who has not received something beneficial from another, small though it may be, or overwhelming as is most often the case.

This week we celebrate a day of giving thanks as a nation. Tables will be set and people gathered. Traditional foods will be prepared and games played. Stories will be told, again, and new tales created for future gatherings and generations. All in all, most of our Thanksgivings will be the same as they always have been. At least in appearance.

But haven’t we changed throughout this past year: grown a little older and wiser; moved along the journey of our lives; realized things that we never saw before; admitted a few more of our limitations and perhaps a few strengths? Thanksgiving is not a day just to remember what was done before, but to look to what is still left to be done. We give thanks for the past and present blessings in our lives so that we may continue to see such in the days to come. God has brought us safely to another day, another year, and it is up to us to continue to move and grow for the days ahead. After all, what is the purpose of looking at the past if it not to help us live well in the future. Sure, we give thanks for what has already been given to us and express our appreciation for the fact that so much of what we already have is truly an undeserved gift from God. But such acknowledgment can help us all to trust Him for our future needs as well.

The mechanics of Thanksgiving will be the same for many of us this year, and whether we see this to be a good thing or not, one thing is guaranteed. What we bring to the table and the celebration can have a great impact on everyone’s ability to find blessing and goodness this year. The spirit of gratitude that we strive to live each day can make a difference even in the most strained of situations, and when we are able to see even the slightest glimmer of light in the dark around us, Christ can be present through us. It is up to us to find the good that is there for everyone of us, and to acknowledge its presence before all with whom we come into contact.

So where have you experienced deliverance this past year? From illness? From personal pain? From selfishness? Have the struggles of making ends meet or keeping everyone happy and secure around you taught you the real value of things taken for granted? Did you feel God near you a little more? Or hear his voice whispering through the noise of your daily living? Did you do well in business, school, family relationships and friends? Do you now see more clearly the need for God to help you through the difficulties you may face today? Or in your present need, are you able to humble yourself a little more than usual, and surrender yourself to God’s will for you?

Such are the makings of true gratitude, and reason to always give thanks.