On Giving Thanks

In my former parish,  there was a Thanksgiving Newsletter that was mailed out to the entire parish mailing list.  The parish newsletter was a very slick publication that required first that submissions go to the editor.  Once the editor was finished with it,  the parish Communication Director, a professional graphic artist,  would format it and make an extremely eye-catching presentation.  It then made its way to the printer, and from there went to the DC class at Forest Heights Collegiate,  who would fold it,  place it in envelopes, and attach the mailing labels, and finally Canada Post would deliver the newsletter to every household in the parish.   The number of steps in the process, and the number of hands it needed to pass through, meant that submissions for the Thanksgiving Newsletter needed to be completed by mid-August.

I remember well one August when my mind was rebelling against this idea of getting my mind wrapped around Thanksgiving in the middle of my summer vacation.  There were so many things that seemed more appropriate for me to think about on a warm August day. Why Thanksgiving?

On that particular day,  I had visited the farmers' market at St. Jacobs, and come home with a car loaded with all the necessary ingredients to make the old family recipe for Chili Sauce. It isn't a terribly involved recipe, apart from preparing all the vegetables,  but it is one that needs to simmer and be stirred all day long.  And so I found myself fairly tied to the house.  At the same time, next door at the church,  our regular Summer Day Camp was running in week 5, and I would regularly drop in and talk to the children.   All the while, my rebellious mind kept asking,  "What am I to say about Thanksgiving in the middle of August?  It isn't time for Thanksgiving yet."

And so it was that I left the chili sauce simmering in the kitchen and went next door to the church to enjoy some play time with the children at the camp.  I had no sooner walked through the door,  than a little girl named Stephanie ran up and gave me a big hug.  I was overjoyed to see her,  as she had been registered for camp all summer,  but had missed many days as she went to Chemotherapy.  On this day,  her colour was good,  and her energy was high,  and her smile just radiated joy.  I joined in the planned games of the camp, and then walked home to my house, where the simmering food had filled the entire space with glorious smells.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere,  Thanksgiving dawned on me.  Little Stephanie was at camp today.  She was well enough today to participate in the whole day's activities.  Thank God!  I was blessed with a wonderful parish that worked very hard to operate that Summer Day camp for eight weeks each summer so that 30 children each week could come and learn about faith, and experience the love of God in our space.  Thank God!  I had been to one of the greatest farmers Markets in the country,  and had been able to come home with my car laden with all manner of food.  Thank God!  I was a part of a family filled with traditions like the making of that "secret" chill sauce recipe,  passed on one generation to another, a family that had loved and formed me into the person I am.  Thank God! Once those flood gates had opened,  at every turn, I saw things there in an August Day, that were every bit as important to thank God for as the harvest that, as a farm boy, was usually the focus of our Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is not a day that we mark on the calendar, although we have a day to draw it into focus.  Thanksgiving is way of looking at all of life; it is an attitude that can change our entire perspective on the day to day experiences of life.  When we approach all of life with Thanksgiving,  we can find incredible joy in the things that are easy to take for granted.

Several years ago, just after my sister and her husband adopted Alice and Owen,  I found myself walking on he trail in the woods on their property with these two small children in tow.  At first, I found myself getting frustrated that the kids were going so incredibly slowly.  They stopped practically at every step.  "Uncle Don,  look at this bug." "Uncle Don, see this rock."  Suddenly, I realized that through Alice and Owen,  I was getting a chance to see the world for the first time, all over again.  Their little eyes were doing precisely that.  They were seeing things for the first time,  that I had seen so many times,  that I had sadly ceased to be filled with wonder about them.  This was a "God moment" for me.  I slowed my usual break-neck pace through life,  and took time with those two small children to explore the path I walked very regularly.  The walk I took so regularly became an adventure. In walking along with two small children,  I got the opportunity to once again experience a walk around Orrs Lake as a magical walk in a world filled with beauty.

My prayer for all of you as we come to the day that we have set aside to focus on giving thanks for all the goodness in our lives,  is that first of all,  we might be given that opportunity to see the world "for the first time all over again."  I pray that we might all see and truly understand some of the blessings that fill our lives, that we so often walk past without a thought.  And I pray that we might come to Thanksgiving,  and to every day with an attitude of Thanksgiving.  I pray that we could all take the time on that day that we set aside to focus on giving thanks, to really take stock of all that we truly have to give thanks for,  and that we might carry that thankfulness into the other 364 days of the year.

I won't close this by saying "May God richly bless you all" because my sense is that if we truly use Thanksgiving as an opportunity to take stock,  we will realize that God already has blessed us all.