Thanks…

November 20, 2006

I received a request Sunday to provide the list of things I mentioned at the end of my sermon Sunday that we can be grateful for. The list was illustrative, not meant to offer a complete reflection, but more to prompt imagination. But if it is helpful, here’s the ending to my sermon “Gratitude”…

We can worry about the relatives coming to visit,
and the arguments we might have around the table,
and the drive to get there,

…or we can be thankful for the gifts of family and community.

We can stress about all those gifts we HAVE to buy, you know,
to keep up with the Joneses…

…or we can see our gift giving as less about those things than about the
very people we celebrate in our lives by exchanging simple gifts.

We can stress about our waistlines

…or we can celebrate the incredible bodies that God gave us,
and rejoice that they enable us to live and move and be
in this wonderful world God made
as we strive to keep them healthy and whole.

For gifts of life, of family,
of church, of community, of love,
of winter snow, of quiet reflection, of loud partying,
of song, of delight, of wonder, of prayer, of peace, of grace, of hope, of faith,

…we have SO MUCH to be thankful for.

And let us rejoice that WE GET to be thankful for these things, too.

May God give to us grateful hearts,
that we may do all this poking this season
in celebration for what God has done in our lives.

Amen!

Posted in Faith