A Grateful Time

I guess it's getting to be that time of year. Fall is coming in a few days, and the holiday season window dressing has already started. Between Halloween and New Year's is my favorite time of year: Thanksgiving and Christmas. I don't celebrate Halloween, and New Year's eve is usually spent in church among friends, but the time in between is a time of reflection and celebration. I love it.

I like to prepare for Thanksgiving by meditating on my blessings. I try to make a list of what I am thankful for. The list gets pretty long when you count the little blessings along with the major ones. Eyesight. Ability to feed myself. My husband. My kids. My memory. Living in America. Ten fingers that still work. Cats. Sisters. Brothers. The internet. Snail mail. And on and on, big and little, all blessings to be enjoyed (even if sometimes they can annoy!) Then on T-day my family gets together and before we pray the blessing on the food we all share what we are grateful for (yeah, complete with eye-rolling from the teenagers.) Corny? Yes. But I think it's essential. Although some of us just give thanks to the air (cosmos, universe, whatever) there are others of us who are very specific about the To Whom we are saying thanks. And that would be God.

Whenever I'm down in a major way I remember to count my blessings and give thanks. The biggest blessing in my life is the gift of Jesus, so Christmas is the best part of this time of year for me. The whole Christmas observance is about the gift of Jesus here on Earth, proof of God's love for us. To think that He gave us His Son, to live and die and live again so we can live forever with Him. I can't imagine sending my only son, my only child, to a place knowing he would die for people who don't know him or even hate him. To be tortured and shamed, for those who might never appreciate it? Such is the love of God for us. Even knowing He would live again...I know I couldn't do it. But this was the only way, and God's love made it possible. How can I not love Him in return?

I guess you can see why I love Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's all one big Thank You to God, for all He is and all He's done, all He's going to do.

The Scarecrow's Song

"If I only had a brain" the Scarecrow sang. Sometimes I think that's the story of my life!

I don't get why people don't think. We see it all around us: the Darwin Awards are the perfect example of what I'm talking about. These people die at their own hands accidentally in incredibly stupid ways. This is proof Darwin was wrong since these people live past puberty, and Darwin's survival of the fittest would dictate that they shouldn't live long enough to procreate. Maybe we are just too protective of our children!



Maybe I need a heart, too.

The Subject of Change

Change. You either hate it or love it. Without it, there is no growth. That is an essential sign of life. But change by itself isn’t the only indication of life. It can mean decay. Change for the better is what we must strive for. After all, we want to be changed day by day into the image of Christ. So…change is a good thing, right? Right.

But it can also be a scary thing. We tend to stick with the familiar, with what we know. Change makes us face our limitations, our comfortable boundaries, our successes. We go with what we know we can do, and so avoid failure. Change stretches us, and it brings risk. Why go there? Why bother with it? Why not stay with what works? After all, if it ain’t broke…

Well, sometimes you need to change in order to keep things fresh. New things lend an excitement, a sense of adventure. Sometimes you have to change because you are forced to. The conditions under which you existed change, and you must adapt. You have no choice. And sometimes change is a sign of maturity, a sign that you are progressing.

So let's embrace the changes that come our way, even if they are among the most difficult to bear. We cannot avoid change unless we die, and what fun is that?

Let's change for the better.
What do you think?