Dear
Friends,
I have an
artist friend who tells me that the eye of the artist focuses not just
on what she sees, i.e., that material object, but also the spaces
that define the object. She invites me to hold up my hand in front of my
face. “See,” she says, “not only are the fingers important, so are each
of the spaces between them.”
Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to thank God for what we have. But
it is also a chance to recognize the emptiness in the world. It’s a
chance to lift up the lowly among us and recognize and fill their needs.
I read
of a man who lived with his six children in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
Just before school was to start all of his children were in need of new
shoes. At the same time the washing machine played out. To top it all
off, his work had been reduced.
He was able
to manage the shoes but finally ran an ad for a used washing machine. He
answered a call concerning a used washing machine and the home was
filled with all the comforts anyone could ever want. After arranging to
pick up the old washer, the conversation got around to children and
Claude Powell commented on the problems of feeding and clothing six
children. The woman of the home ran out of the room crying. In
explaining the father observed that they had one child who had been
paralyzed from birth and how he had never needed a pair of shoes. And
Claude says: “When I got home I picked up the worn out shoes, worn out
from skipping rope, kicking stones and jumping puddles and I went off to
be by myself. Kneeling by my bed I gave thanks to God for the worn-out
shoes in our house.”
I wonder
how many of our gripes should be a means of giving thanks to the Lord?
Or as
this poet puts it:
Our
power is shut off and suddenly we become thankful for electricity.
Our
garbage is not picked up and suddenly we become thankful for the garbage
collector’s weekly stop.
A good
friend dies and suddenly we discover how much he meant to us.
Our
water becomes too polluted to drink and suddenly we appreciate pure
water.
Why
is it, Lord, that we take for granted the uncounted blessings of life
until they are removed from us.
We take
for granted…
…the
mind you have given us;
…the
beauty of the earth around us;
…the
rain and soil, combining to grow our food
…the
love of family and friends surrounding us.
Today
we thank you for being so patient with us, for not forgetting us when we
forget you, for loving and forgiving us, for music and singing, for rest
and leisure, for those who understand us, for laughter and joy, for
being with us now.
Most of
all we thank you for not withholding the blessings of life from us even
though we take them for granted.
“Make a
joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; enter into his gates with
thanksgiving and his courts with praise.” Psalm 100
Peace and
Love...
J. Robert
Gray
