I am thankful for the wife who says, "Hot dogs for supper!"
Because she is home with me, not someone else.
I am thankful for the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato
Because he is home with me and not out at the bars.
I am thankful for the teenager who is complaining about doing dishes
Because she is at home and not out on the streets.
I am thankful for the taxes I pay
Because it means I am employed.
I am thankful for the mess to clean after a party
Because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
I am thankful for the clothes that fit a little too snug
Because it means I have enough to eat.
I am thankful for my shadow that watches me work
Because it means I am out in the sunshine.
I am thankful for a lawn to mow, windows to clean and gutters to fix
Because it means I have a home.
I am thankful for the complaining I hear about the government
Because it means we have freedom of speech.
I am thankful for the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot
Because it means I am able to walk and I have been blessed with transportation.
I am thankful for my huge heating bill
Because it means I am warm.
I am thankful for the pile of laundry and ironing
Because it means I have clothes to wear.
I am thankful for weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day
Because it means I have been able to work.
I am thankful for the alarm that rings early in the morning hours
Because it means I am alive.
Saturday, October 24th is United Nations Day so I would like to offer this prayer as we celebrate it.
For the United Nations
Eternal God, we pray for all who serve in the United Nations. Grant thy blessing upon their endeavors to heal the wounds of the world through cooperation in education and other fields of human service; and may thy Holy Spirit so guide their deliberations in Council and Assembly, that all causes of strife may be removed, and peace and concord be secured among all the peoples of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
On a cold January morning in 2007, in a Washington, DC Metro subway station, a man stopped among the throngs of morning commuters, pulled out his violin and began to play. The man played several Bach pieces, with the beautiful sounds echoing off of the subway station walls like the shell of a well-build amphitheater. During the time he played, over two thousand people went through the station, most lost in their busy thoughts, hustling their way to work.
Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin valued at $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the price of seats averaged over $100.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.... what else are we missing?
Matthew 8:1-17."Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean."
An expert interviewed during the hurricane clean-up indicated that the equipment being brought in included "IBBs," or "itty-bitty boats." Those small craft, though unimpressive to look at, would be used to bring one or two people at a time to safety.
Often the presence of God arrives in an itty-bitty boat. I expect a big splash, and that expectation delays me in going to God. After all, how can I go to the God of all creation with small problems that hardly seem worth mentioning? I can convince myself that God needn't be bothered with me; like the man in need of healing, I say apologetically, "Lord, if you choose..."
But my places of pain and anxiety are not too small for the Creator of the universe. In fact, knowledge of the presence of God comes in those small places, when I am afraid and alone. Someone comes along--whom I believe to be an incarnation of the presence of God--to help heal me. So God, though Creator and ruler of the universe, does not always show up in flashy, conspicuous ways. More often, God shows up in an itty-bitty boat.
I Believe...
That just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other.
I Believe ...
That we don't have to change friends, if we understand that friends change.
I Believe...
That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
I Believe...
That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.
I Believe...
That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
I Believe...
That you can keep going long after you think you can't.
I Believe...
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I Believe...
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
I Believe...
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
I Believe...
That it isn't always enough, to be forgiven by others; sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself...
I Believe...
That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
I Believe...
That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you - you will find the strength to help.
Luke 18:9-14.Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
Did Jesus ever tell any easy parables? Here, the tax collector, an enemy collaborator, finds favor with God; the righteous Pharisee does not. How can this be?
Although it's been fourteen years since I've fasted, I'm a Pharisee. I read my Bible, attend church faithfully, tithe. Why should God prefer the extortioner to me? I even volunteer in prison!
What our prison chaplain finds most rewarding is "seeing the light go on as someone gets it, something you rarely witness in the parish pew." Her "congregation" consists largely of abused women who turned to drugs to alleviate pain and then to crime to finance addiction. "Light" is the reality of God's love piercing self-hatred.
It is hard for someone who has lived up to society's expectations to grasp that God loves us not because of our successes, but unconditionally. Inflated self-image clouds comprehension. We laugh off gluttony, are blind to greed, compare ourselves not to Jesus, but to neighbor.
Jesus loves us exactly as we are. To see ourselves as we are is humbling, but it is only in humility that we can come before God.
Father, forgive me for letting my difficulties ruin my attitude. I want to be a blessing to others no matter my personal circumstances. Convict me with your Spirit when I begin to focus too much on myself and my situation. Expand my heart with your grace so that I can use my inconveniences, problems, struggles, and challenges to be opportunities to share and to display your grace. In Jesus' name I pray.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
(John 3.16 NRSV)
A pastor was visiting some of his parishioners. He took his young daughter with him. As they visited an elderly couple, the man gave her a handful of peanuts. Expecting her to show a spirit of gratitude, the father asked his daughter, "Honey, what are you supposed to say?" Sincerely, and with her eyes fixed upon the man, she asked, "You got any more?"
That sounds like many of us. We accept God's gifts, never saying "thank you" but simply asking, "Have you got any more?" Yet God keeps giving. That is His nature.
This is a meditation taken from my daily book of meditations Forward Day by Day that appeared a few days ago and it has been on my mind every since. I would like to share it with you.
1 Corinthians 4:9-15.We are fools for the sake of Christ.
He was a member of my first parish. He had a good job and a comfortable life. One day he came to ask for my prayers. He said he was quitting his job to work full-time to alleviate hunger in our city. I said, "That's wonderful! What program are you going to work for?" "No program," he replied, "I'm going to start by finding out why people don't have enough to eat, and then I'm going to do something about it." "What will you live on?" I asked. "I've got some savings," he said, "and I plan to live on as little as possible, like those who are hungry. My goal is to make sure that no one in our city goes to bed hungry unless they choose to." "That's an ambitious goal," I said. "You're crazy," I thought.
By the time I left that parish and moved away, there were many new feeding programs, financial counseling programs, and food distribution centers in operation. People still went to bed hungry, but there were a lot fewer of them than before. I believe my former parishioner is still working on it.
