Gratitude

"Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more." Brother David Steindl-Rast

This afternoon I was enjoying a very quiet home as my little people ALL napped. The time enabled me to spend some time pondering gratitude. There are many people in this world (including around our tables tomorrow) going through difficult times. For some it is medical, others financial, emotional or a combination of the three. Yet, even so, with every breath we breathe we have mounds of things to be thankful for.

As I was searching for quotes of gratitude, I came across this one: "The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving." H.U. Westermayer

How spoiled we are--even in our hard times--compared to our forefathers! It reminded me that despite the list of circumstances we all have that we would improve if able, we are richly, abundantly blessed. If your family has income of $40,000/year or more, you are among the richest 1% in the world. You have clean water, shelter, clothing--a computer. This is just a materialistic look. But what of your life, the gift of each new morning, the beauty of this world, lives you encounter on a daily basis, love you give and receive? And the gift of a Saviour--we have MUCH for which to express our thanks.

Shame on us to allow it to be about the food. May tomorrow be about the feast--the feast we offer for our King as a pause in this wide ride of life to ponder and appreciate the lives He has placed us in. Then, may we leave those tables and practice Thanksgiving the other 364 days of the year.

"Saying thank you is more than good manners. It is good spirituality." Alfred Painter

Happy Thanksgiving!