Smoky Mountain Reflections #176
Thankfulness,
as we approach the 500th anniversary year of the reformation I would
like to ponder the question of gratitude as we wind up the calendar year this
Advent season.
So,
what does it mean to be thankful? I think it is to acknowledge, a gift of God
and to express gratitude for it. What does that look like? Here is a short
list.
-
You live and breathe
and are a being
o
Thank your creator by
loving Him and your neighbor in accord with His word.
-
You have stuff.
o
Thank God by being a
good steward of it.
-
You have technology.
o
Thank God by
respecting the generations that did the work to provide it.
-
You have family &
loved ones.
o
Thank God by caring
for and cherishing all God given relationships.
-
You have creativity.
o
Thank God by using it.
-
You have freedom and
peace
o
Thank God by
expressing you gratitude to those who work to provide it.
-
You have a faith
o
Thank God by nurturing
it with word and sacrament.
-
You have strife, struggle
and suffering
o
Thank God by learning
growing through it and trusting Him in it.
As I said
this is a short list and as you can see all our thanks goes to the provider of
everything but we express our gratitude not by feeling warm and fuzzy, but by
saying thank you to God in prayer and deed to and through others.
Have a
Blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year.
In Christ Pastor Portier
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