"Fully alive people do not see their lives as a perennial funeral procession with one day following uneventfully on the heels of another. Alive people see tomorrow as a new opportunity which they eagerly await. They are on the growing edge of life." (Father John Powell)

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

"A Sacrament of Thanksgiving" by Howard Thurman

TODAY, I Make my Sacrament of Thanksgiving.

I begin with the simple things of my days:
Fresh air to breathe,
Cool water to drink,
The taste of food,
The protection of houses and clothes,
The comforts of home.
For these, I make an act of Thanksgiving this day!


I bring to mind all the warmth of humankind that I have known;
My mother's arm,
The strength of my father,
The playmates of my childhood,
The wonderful stories brought to me from the lives of many who
talked the days gone by when fairies and giants and
all kinds of magic held sway:
The tears I have shed, the tears I have seen;
The excitement of laughter and the twinkle in the eye with its
reminder that life is good.
For all these I make an act of Thanksgiving this day.


I finger one by one the messages of hope that awaited me
at the crossroads:
The smile of approval form those who held in their hands
the reins of my security;
The tightening of the grip in a single handshake when I feared
the step before me in the darkness;
The whisper in my heart when the temptation was fiercest and
the claims of appetite were not to be denied;
The crucial word said, the simple sentence from an open page
when my decision hung in the balance.
For all these I make an act of Thanksgiving this day.


I pass before me the mainsprings of my heritage:
The fruits of the labors of countless generations who lived before me,
without whom my own life would have no meaning;
The seers who saw visions and dreamed dreams;
The prophets who sensed a truth greater than the mind could grasp
and whose words could only find fulfillment in the years which
they would never see;
The workers who sweat has watered the trees, the leaves of which
are for the healing of the nations;
The pilgrims who set their sails for lands beyond all horizons,
whose courage made paths into new worlds and far-off places;
The saviors whose blood was shed a recklessness that only a dream
could inspire and God could command.
For all this I make an act of Thanksgiving this day.


I linger over the meaning of my own life and the commitment
to which I give the loyalty of my heart and mind:
The little purposes in which I have shared with my loves,
my desires, my gifts;
The restlessness which bottoms all I do with its stark insistence that
I have never done my best,
I have never dated to reach for the highest;
The big hope that never quite deserts me, that I and my kind
will study war no more, that love and tenderness and
all the inner graces of Almighty affection will cover the life of
their children of God as the waters cover the sea.


All these and more than mind can think and heart can feel,
I make as my sacrament of Thanksgiving to Thee,
O Father, in humbleness of mind and simplicity of heart.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Constantly Open to God

In his most recent book, Opening to God, author David Benner begins his introduction with these insightful and challenging words:

"Just imagine how different your life would be if moment by moment you were constantly open to God. Think of how much your experience of yourself, others and the world would change if you were continuously attuned to the loving presence of God and allowed the life of God to flow into and through you with each breath. Such a life would itself be prayer...prayer is not simply words that we offer when we speak to Got but an opening of our self to God."

I am thinking that this is what the Apostle Paul meant by praying unceasingly. It's not a matter of shutting my eyes and bowing my head. It's more a matter of this openness that David Benner describes. To be honest, I am truly drawn to this type of experience. But, I also realize that I go through my day rather mindlessly and "out of tune." In other words, not attuned to the loving presence of God. Our culture is also one in which we are easily distracted. Facebook, 24/7 news, constantly wired and checking emails and texts. All of this keeps us mentally occupied and distracted.

I realize that a growing edge in my life is to value the spiritual reality enough to be open to God's loving presence in the world. It's not that God isnt present. I'ts more that I'm not paying attention and maybe even looking in the wrong places. I can pay attention by:

  • Pausing throughout the day for brief periods and simply sitting in silence.
  • Reading prayers or Scripture and soaking in them
  • Taking a walk and enjoying the beauty of the day
  • Listening to my own feelings, emotions, responses to life in the moment

You might have your own list. Trust that God is wanting to communicate with you in this moment. Be open. I know I'm trying to be.