GRATEFUL... AT THANKSGIVING... AND EVERY OTHER DAY

Gratefulness, someone said, is the fullest expression of the human heart... but I often take my blessings for granted. When I started my spiritual journey in the fall of 1976, a wise man told me that my life would be better if I took the time to write a gratitude list every morning. A casual thought wouldn't do, he said, because writing it down would give give the things that I was grateful for... specificity and clarity. My friend said that this spiritual discipline would lift my spirits and keep my feet on the right path... but I forget to do it, or feel as if I don't need to do it... so I plod along, wondering why I don't receive as many blessings that others seem to have. This way of thinking is self-defeating and counter-productive... so today... as another Thanksgiving nears... I will write my Gratitude List, even as I encourage you to write yours. 

Today, I am grateful for... Christ, Golgotha, and the Easter Promise... my wife, my family, and friends who have accepted me as I am and overlooked my faults and shortcomings.

Today, I am grateful for... the healing power of laughter and the depth of heartfelt tears. I am grateful for my vocation (what a joy it is to minister and preach in Christ's name), for adult baptisms, for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th chances, for unexpected generosity, and for the many people who have shown me what it means to serve,

    

Today, I am grateful for... the oldies station, for praise music (with its energy and joy), for classic country (when Willie dies I am sure to cry), and for old-time gospel music. I am grateful for the unmistakable and empowering thread of hope that runs through Christian

funerals... and for people who die with grace.

Today, I am grateful for... good coffee, bad coffee, cold coffee, and reheated coffee, even though I've recently been advised that 10-15 cups is too many. I am also grateful for mulligans (why should I count shots that weren't my best)... and forgiveness.

Today, I am grateful for an oncology nurse named Maria (who saved Sherry's life) and for a preacher named Lu (who led me to Christ). I am grateful for people who have shown me what it means to be a Christian in the way I live- Edna, Bill, Joan, Joyce, Bus, Jeff, Will, Uncle Bill, Donna, Trish, and many of you who are in my life today. 

Today, I am grateful that my wife, Sherry, who was diagnosed with a terminal cancer 17 years ago, is still with me. I am grateful for the children, grandchildren, and great-grandson that God has given to us. I've been sober now for 42 years... and I am eternally grateful for the joy, hope, and peace that I have found in Christ Jesus.

I grew up in a secular home and we celebrated holidays in a very secular way. Alcohol and laughter were a big part of our holidays... and we didn't lay wreaths on graves, serve food to the needy, give to the Salvation Army, or lift up Christ. But at Thanksgiving, when we sat down together for our feast (which included Marie's oyster dressing and cranberries, even in the year of the great cranberry scare)... one of the elders would say grace! It wasn't a sophisticated prayer, but it was an acknowledgment that we were blessed and that what we had... had been given to us... as a gift which we ought to be grateful for. It's not the greatest spiritual memory in the world, but it has remained with me... and long before I ever dawned a church door, I knew that all good things came from God. I became a pastor when I had passed 40 and I was 62 when God blessed me with a call to Rock Island. People said that, at that age, I wouldn't ever be called to a full-time ministry again, but God had other plans and Sherry and I were blessed to serve with a wonderful congregation for years. Earlier this year, when I was 71, I saw an ad in a Presbyterian newsletter that said, "part-time Pastor wanted in Knoxville," and in my view it was signed, "God." So, here I am, and I am so very grateful! 

      

I've read that the Masai people say, "My head is filled with dirt," when they are grateful. Rather than saying "thank you," they say, "My head is filled dirt"... because, when they are grateful, they fall on their knees and actually put their foreheads in the dirt. This is much too vulnerable for most of us, but when you've been saved by grace and showered with unmerited blessings... what else can you do... but fall on your knees and say, "My Lord and my God, my head is filled with dirt"! Amen. Please write your own gratitude list and share it with your family this Thanksgiving.