“If the only prayer you ever say in your life is thank you, it will be enough.” (Meister Eckhart)
Tomorrow marks the 399th anniversary of Thanksgiving Day in our nation. Those who came before us who recognized the profound power of a regular practice of prayer and gratitude. The thanksgiving that the Plymouth Rock pilgrims celebrated recognized their successful corn harvest in North America, in the shadow of having buried half of the original 102 Mayflower passengers who died during their first harsh winter.
At the height of the Civil Way, 242 years later, President Lincoln all Americans to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife and to heal the wounds of the nation.”
Death and life – prayer and gratitude – go hand in hand.
There is a relationship between plenty and want. The two, as we affirm in marriage vows, makes the relationship deeper, truer, tested and affirmed. In this time of great loss, great anxiety, great fear, there lies the roots of the deepest gratitude of all. This moment, this day, in all of its fullness, is the ground from which all thanks springs.
May this Thanksgiving be memorable for your prayers for the world, and your gratitude for all things be grounded in the one from whom all blessings grow. ~ Anne
Wayfinding 