Being thankful for the Love and Grace of God.
Saying thank you is really not enough; but it is a good start. When we say thank you and truly mean it, we create and deepen all relationships. This is one of the missions we accept when we pray, when we accept God in our lives. When we are thankful, we allow gratitude to grow both within us and around us, joining others in seeing and learning about appreciativeness and gratitude in society. What a great gift!
When we say, “Lord, hear my prayer,” we share all of God’s blessings and gifts with others. The Psalmist writes, “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” We truly thank God only when we are willing to thank each other, especially when it is just a thank you for them being in our lives. When we spread our arms in thanksgiving, it is like a cell door opening and freeing us, liberating us from loneliness and prejudice.
God accepts our thankfulness; He asks us to spread our gratitude with others; this means that we must look seeing those who have little in this world. We are thankful for our blessings, and we share our blessings with those in need, realizing the Love that Jesus gave to us. Thanksgiving is for all time, not just one day a year.
I sit at my desk, pray for those on my prayer list and meditate on the words of Jesus. During this time, I often think of my parents and my sister, all have passed, but I am not without them. As I sit here writing about them today, being thankful that I was able to share their lives with mine, they are in the room with my, hugging and wishing me a happy new year as we end 2021. I am truly blessed by family, particularly my wife of 53 years, my two children in their forties, and my three grandsons, ages 19, 3, and 1. Thank you God for a wonderful family.
Lord, hear my prayer; allow me to have the courage and the strength to share my gifts with others. Your gifts are blessings grow and flourish only when shared. Open my heart to share my gratitude and Your comfort for the existence of all peoples.
© Russell Kendall Carter
Meditating to Heal 