BY REV. DAVID MERRITT |
(This piece was written in the run-up to Thanksgiving, 2022)
After the month of October, we look forward to the Thanksgiving Season – unless you are a marketing executive. Thanksgiving, as a day or season, reminds us of our common expression of thankfulness for the basic features of a “good life.” But being thankfulness as a spiritual discipline is more about living life on its own terms. As R. Neibuhr once said in the conclusion to what is termed the Serenity Prayer;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will.
That I may be happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.
Thankfulness is more about living a life with God’s guidance and adjusting our expectations to be in tune with a life lived in obedience to God’s will. But somehow, in the midst of all of the confusion over which holiday we celebrate at what time, we have connected the Trick or Treat of Halloween with an indulgent appetite for the perfect recipe for a Thanksgiving meal.
As an observation, Thanksgiving is really an attitude of gratitude and a willingness to be happy or blessed in the ebb and flow of life. Needless to say, such a life choice is difficult to say the least. I too find that I lean toward the picture perfect scenes of the holiday flyers in my mailbox when I think of Thanksgiving. Food, family, and a large table greet me as I pick up grocery items for the day at the local store. And to be sure, I am tempted to produce more food than needed.
Image via Jon Tyson on unsplash.com
But if I am honest, the world around me is most happy or blessed when we share our resources, make space at the table for the stranger, reconcile our differences with those most close to us, and find the inner strength to live as Jesus did “Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,” and being grateful for all things in its season.
Perhaps we can look at the Thanksgiving Season as a time to reflect, reconsider, and re-tool our collective selves and seek the Peace of Christ as a prelude to Advent. And then maybe with a renewed sense of purpose, we will be thankful and blessed in new and vibrant ways this November 2022.
God, grant me the Serenity
To accept the things I cannot change…
Courage to change the things I can,
And Wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.
-Reinhold Neibuhr
About the author
The Rev. David Merritt is a retired Pastor, former Dean, Outreach Director, and Chaplain, but he’s “papa” according to his grand-kids. David loves God, Laurel Ridge, and his family. He has enough sense to get out of the rain but prefers raindrops anyway.
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