Give Thanks for it is Right and Just

So I am doing the Southern California equivalent thing with my blog.:-)  I am at Manhatten Beach awaiting a sunset and its 70 degrees the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Truly I am blessed. I am blessed to call two marvelous places home in what arguably is the best state in the country. Which segways me into the theme of this blog.

Last year I made a new years resolution to attend daily mass. Of course I have missed a few but by and large and certainly of late I have made it pretty much every single time. And why do I mention this?

P: "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God." C: "It is right and just." P:  It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation always and everywhere to give you thanks through your beloved son Jesus Christ." These are the words I utter and hear daily at mass. 

These words are so deep and true that I can not give them justice in a simple blog. Simply put we are designed to give thanks and yielding to this desire brings us joy and conversely thwarting that is to our detriment. 

It is great that we have a national holiday reminding us to give thanks. But I would suggest it should be a daily reminder and even a moment to moment reminder. Every breath we take is a gift, every meal, every experience, every person and every good thought is a gift:-) Imagine giving thanks for our good thoughts too? 

I am reminded of two real life experiences that I have been graced to be acquainted with. One is an Australian man named Nick Vujicic who was born without arms and legs. Certainly not the ideal physical condition. But it’s what he does with that is what shows is what reality is and that gratefulness will lead us to that heavenly kingdom. I have attached a link on him as my description would not do him justice. Here is one of his briefest videos. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKTg_INHgpc

Then saw an African American young man who was born without arms and had a dream of being an engineer for a racing company. He achieved his goals and learned to type with his feet. He was grateful for his gifts and pursued them. Here is a brief your tube story on him. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-BephrXDwY

Could it be as simple as that? Be grateful for your gifts and give thanks and praise by maximizing the most. The alternative is focusing on what you lack and  feeling badly about it or complaining about it.  Fixing it you say? I would dare say that is a gift...fixing what you or others lack. We can resolve to help those who celebrate Thanksgiving only by our generosity or praying for those who don’t or can’t celebrate it, even if they want to. That is being thankful.

When we tune into the Lord the giver of all good gifts and give HIM thanks and praise our lives become a mirror of that. And what greater joy could our Heavenly Father have than to see you using your gifts and asking for his graces. What you end up doing for HIM and his Glory will in turn glorify you. I would dare say HE delights in this.

So this thanksgiving when you gather around table with the Turkey and the trimmings with family and the friends...pause for a moment and give thanks to God for so many daily things..even the things that seem like they are not good..for behold HE can turn any situation around for your good if you let Him. Invite God in, in your joys and in your pains. It does not matter whether you got yourself into the mess by your own fault or if you are the victim of a senseless act or born a certain way...invite HIM in and what follows from you will surprise you. And please don’t forgot to give God HIS due and Give Thanks.

A Special Thanksgiving

I think we have a holyday for a few of the virtues that make us happy. Love is Valentine's day. Service and sacrifice are Veterans day. I am sure you can make even more ties.Yet today is the only day we actually call out the virtue of being thankful.

Oh sure its an American holiday where staunch patriots celebrate a tradition and liberals fashion another celebration because they see the event as raping and pillaging the native Americans. But aside from which lens you look at this day, I think to be thankful is a powerful grace.

Some of us are grateful for health, wealth and/or a loving family. Some of us are blessed with all of it. Some of us are grateful for our jobs, a meal on the table, our children, our parents, our spouse. Some of us are grateful for a happy disposition or a job we love. Some of us are sick and are grateful for another day of life or relief from pain when it comes Yes, the family is large and the circumstances varied It's all fleeting no matter what but it's those moments no matter what they are that we can be thankful for.

So here I will share the personal and hope the broad will permeate as to why it is a great blessing in our lives to be thankful, beyond the analytically psychological. Today I am thankful for the everyday gifts God has given me, for my body, my mind, my heart and my soul. For the relative health and strength that I have been graced with in all aspects. I am thankful for my home, my friends and my extended family.

And to the not so everyday, I am so incredibly grateful that God has graced me into a new life..a new career that I never dreamed possible. I am soo incredibly grateful that He shows me that in every day and every interaction, He teaches me through you and I teach others for Him.

And its all for our own edification, for our own understanding of how great and powerful love is and all for the glory of God..all for the glory of that pure white hot unconditional love. A love that not only speaks the truth in love but allows you to crash and burn when you vear of the path. He loves us enough to allow us to fail just so we can reach for Him and allow Him to lead.

I am incredibly grateful that His dreams for me are much bigger than my own. I am grateful that the path is ambiguous and tumultuous..that the adventure is so easy when I grab a hold of His hand. Whether in war and famine or feast and good times..God is there..weeping with us or celebrating with us.

This day I am incredibly grateful I know God exists..some of us still are unsure or don't believe at all. I am incredibly grateful that he is teaching me day by day what it means to love. And this day my dear and sweet Heavenly Father..I am grateful for You. And as tears of joy stream down my face..I see that being thankful also heals. And for you dear God and the so much more you give us...this is a very special Thanksgiving.