This is the time of the year in which we express our gratitude for all the gifts we have received in our lives. No matter what our circumstances, we can always find something for which we can be grateful. It is true that we all have ups and downs in our lives. Sometimes we enjoy good health and sometimes we undergo sickness. At times, our finances are good and other times we struggle. Sometimes our relationships are flowing smoothly and at other times there are rocky roads. At times, students get good grades and at other times despite their best efforts, their grades drop. No one has a life free of troubles. Yet, no matter how bad things are, there is still so much good in our lives for which we can be grateful.
There is a story of pastor who was giving a sermon. After the sermon, they normally sang a hymn. He had picked a hymn for this week on the theme of gratitude. During the sermon, he noticed a woman new to the congregation enter for the services who took a seat in the back row. She wore a shawl over her head and looked down for most of the service so he could not see her clearly. When the sermon ended, he passed out words of the hymn to all the members of the congregation. The words sang of gratitude to the Lord for all one’s gifts. When he got to the back row, he could see that the woman had scars on her face, which came from an accident. His heart went out to her as he thought about how she must have suffered not only from how she looked, but how others must have shunned her throughout her life.
He returned to the front to lead the song, and was amazed to hear the gusto with which the woman sang her praises to God. She seemed to sing with the most gratitude of anyone else in the congregation. At the end of the programme, he went to the door to bid farewell to the members as they exited. When the woman passed by, he stopped her and said, “I noticed how you sang the hymn of gratitude with the most enthusiasm of anyone here. May I ask, how could you do so with the challenges you must have faced?” The woman said, “Whenever I think about the injury I underwent and the scars it left, I am grateful to God for two things. One: I survived the accident with only these scars. Two: as I look around the world I see many people suffering far worse than I am. I am grateful to God for what I have, as things could have been much worse.”
We often feel that no one has it as bad as we have it, and find reasons to complain to God. Yet, when we take stock of our lives, we find there is much more for which we can be grateful than the times we have problems. Some of us are blessed with material comforts, such as food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and medical care. Others are blessed with good relationships. Others are blessed with achieving goals whether intellectual or physical. We may have been blessed with doing well in school, or in a sport, art, extracurricular activity or hobby. Yet, of all the blessings we can have in this world, the highest one is love. When we are loved, that fulfils us more than any worldly gift. Of all the love possible in the world, the highest gift is spiritual love. Each of us is embraced by God’s love. No matter what our outer circumstances, there is no higher gift than spiritual love. On this Thanksgiving, let us express our gratitude to God for his love. Let us use our every breath to love God and our fellow beings. Then, our lives will be one long song of love for God. Then, we will realise that the greatest gift we can receive from others and from God, and the greatest gift we can give to others and to God, is love.
