Today is Thanksgiving. I have been so blessed in my life that it’s sometimes difficult to express the gratitude I hold in my heart for all of it. The most sacred blessing of all is coming to the belief that God loves me unconditionally. No matter what happens I have that conviction and it is my prayer today that others will come to know that truth as well. The message from Brother Luke Ditewig of the Society of St. John the Evangelist says it well today.
You are invited to the feast. It doesn’t matter where you’re coming from or who your family is or what you’ve done or what you’ve not done. It doesn’t matter how you’re dressed or how you speak or who you love. There’s a place for you. Dinner is ready. (ssje.org)
May you know God’s choicest blessings today!
I’m happy this morning for a tiny bit of good news: The Boston Red Sox won the World Series last night! (Sorry, I was born and half-raised in Newton, a suburb of Boston, and it’s generally impossible to get that heritage out of a girl!) I consider, however, as I revel in that news, how complex we are – able to entertain that kind of celebratory feeling at the same time as sensing such anguish for the people of Pittsburgh who are suffering the heinous crime of the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre. One hardly knows how to hold it all, especially because the murder of those innocent people follows on the heels of two other incidents of senseless killing in the same week. Things seem to be devolving into a deeper darkness with each day’s news. The questions now come from a place of near-frozenness: When and where does this stop? What will it take to cause a course change?
The psalmist is “waxing eloquent” this morning. As Psalm 8 rings in my inner sight, I recall the beautiful blue sky and sunshine of yesterday afternoon as I drove and sang with the accompaniment of longtime liturgical musicians whose music always stirs me to praise. This weekend was well begun last evening (see yesterday’s post) with a sellout crowd for our communal “walk down memory lane.” I look forward to a full day of enthusiastic sharing in words toward a hopeful future and feelings of gratitude for what we have been given throughout our history from our roots in 17th century France to worldwide service in love of God and neighbor.
I’m looking out at serious snow this morning…as promised by meteorologists whose forecasts seem to be more frequently correct these days. Perhaps their instruments truly are quite improved. They couldn’t have missed this one though. It appears that the storm is affecting most of the Midwest all the way to the East Coast. And the flu remains rampant.
Today I sit staring at a blank page, feeling a bit empty, as happens sometimes on the Monday after an important holiday. While I was not counted in the millions of people who took to the road or the sky over the weekend to be with faraway relatives or friends (the return trip perhaps not concluded yet), the Thanksgiving holiday just concluded seemed to me to hold more energy than usual in the wishes of “Happy Thanksgiving!” shared sincerely among friends and strangers alike. Maybe we needed some distraction from all the distress of our country and the world that made us try harder to find the joy of sharing. Maybe it was just the slowing down and relaxing together that pervaded our household. Whatever the source, I feel the need to regroup today so that I will live consciously throughout the wonderful season of Advent leading to Christmas. As the world turns from another beginning to a conclusion marked by the calendar of feasting and celebrations, I am heartened and challenged by Thomas Merton’s words to wake up and get about this new day.
Santa Claus arrived with a flourish yesterday at the culmination of the Thanksgiving Day parade in NY City. He was quite animated, bouncing and waving in all directions to announce that the run-up to Christmas had begun. Although Hallmark movies had been filling the airwaves with Christmas carols since sometime in October, now it’s official and very serious. The internet is awash with advertisements for all kinds of amazing discounts on products and services. I heard on the national news last night that even airline ticket prices are slashed “for a limited time.” What began as a day-long opportunity for deep price reductions on the day after Thanksgiving has been running for a week already, but is still named, ironically, Black Friday.
This morning I have a stream of gratitude moving through my consciousness, flowing like a mountain stream, bubbling up with images of people, places and events that have created the collage of my life in the past year. At the same time, it’s as if there is a camera clicking in me to set those experiences in place on the canvas of 2017. Because I’m writing about it, the whole experience has become like a freeze-frame of a film and won’t start moving again until I turn back from this explanation to the experience inside me. At that point I suspect what will happen is akin to the result of a bucket of water thrown onto the canvas – or perhaps the “fade” button on a movie camera being pressed – so everything melds together into a heartfelt sensation of grateful love.
Today I am filled with gratitude for all that was experienced during the meeting that I was anticipating yesterday at sunrise (See my previous post). Generosity of heart and spirit flowed throughout our deliberations. Insights shared around our tables of six or seven broadened our perspectives and laughter punctuated the process of coming to the weighty decisions we had to make. In the end thankfulness poured out in a powerful prayer of blessing for those women who will lead us forward into the future. I will bring this remembrance to the table on Thursday as we celebrate our Thanksgiving dinner at our home.