Giving thanks?

Psalm 134

Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the Lord. May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.

Psalm 134 Modern Translation

Be thankful, servants of God, You who wait for God. Be thankful all the days of your life. Be thankful for the beauty of the earth. And the One who is making it will bless you.

A seeker once went to the holy woman in the desert because life had become too chaotic and he yearned to have balance and order restored within him. The desert woman said to him, “Your life is chaotic because you have become dependent on change, on excitement, on variety. You want always to experience something new instead of finding what is new through the repetition of what seems old. If you would have balance and order within, do one small thing at the same time each day with gratitude in your heart and slowly the tattered fragments of your life will be bound together into a textured tapestry of beauty. It does not take great doses of hardship – only one small thing done every day at the same time with gratitude in your heart. One small thing every day, at the same time, with gratitude in your heart. One small thing, every day, same time, with gratitude. And that will be enough.

We live in a world filled that often moves a pace that many of us find had to keep up with on our good days. All around us tells us to go, go, go and if we are at rest something must be wrong with us. But there is something special about taking time to take time.

One of those times ahead of us comes in the form of the Thanksgiving Holiday. Many of us will be gathering with family for the yearly ritual of turkey and mashed potatoes. We will once again run ourselves frantic with preparing to host or be hosted at the table once more. And then on Friday next the frenzy of pre-dawn shopping. A time that is supposed to be about family and giving thanks for God's bounty has, like most other days of rest, become a time of chaos.

But what would happen if we stopped this Thanksgiving and really gave thanks? How different would our lives be if instead of frantically gathering the family for food we gathered our families and together prepared a meal with thanksgiving? What would happen if at our gathers rather than eating and running off to the football game of the day we gave thanks for each other? What if we shared memories and let our families know how much we love and care for them even when we disagree?

I think our Thanksgiving celebrations would be a lot different. I think we would find in this holiday a joy that has been lost in the shop-til-you-drop mentality that has become part of our cultural celebration of thanks.

I for one will make an effort to slow down this Thanksgiving Day, to give thanks for the many blessings and great things that God has given me in all aspects of my life. My invitation is for you to do the same. Let us promise that we will make this year different because if we lose sight of what giving thanks, we lose sight of who we really are, and that is too high a price to pay for the latest electronic gadget.