Sunday, November 29, 2009

The Gift of Thanksgiving

I'm immensely grateful for the gift of life both for my own life and the lives of my loved ones. They bring so much joy into my life so willingly it takes my breath away when I bother to think about it, which I have to confess, is not all that often.

Yet somehow, this Sunday, the first Sunday in Advent this year, I was moved to reflect about the gift of thanksgiving. I have so much, when I bother to think about it, I realise how ungrateful I am most of the time. Instead I focus on the things I do not yet have and this has an effect on me of being more grasping, more task oriented. When I try a little harder to be grateful though, all that melts away, and my soul somehow softens, and it is easier to see all the good things I have already been given and also to look beyond my own immediate desires and wants to the wider world beyond. It is the start of contentment.

And it is also the start of a period of reflection for me, as a preparation for the celebration of Christ-mas, the celebration of the Christ-child, made man: Emmanuel.

Who could have imagined such a gift.

We get, not what we ask for, but our God, in his generosity, gives all of mankind, far more than we ever dreamed of. And this is for ALL mankind, not just Christians. And this little child, soaring beyond the stars, beyond anything we dared hoped for, this is what we celebrate at Christmas.


6 comments:

Cioara Andrei said...

Foarte interesant subiectul postat de tine. M-am uitat pe blogul tau si imi place ce am vazut.Cu siguranta am sa il mai vizitez.
O zi buna!

maybe said...

I'm appreciate your writing skill.Please keep on working hard.^^

Sarah Whitman said...

This is a beautiful reflection on Thanksgiving. View my Thanksgiving post, a similar sentiment. My blog is www.heartfulobservations.blogspot.com

Katong Gal said...

Yes, indeed we hv much to thank God for...

Mandy said...

In the spirit of thanksgiving, thanks for all the encouraging comments!

Resha Valentine said...

i used to havae a twitter account and was following this lead vocalist... i forgot what band he belongs to >.< and im beating myself up for it but he said something along the lines of "A day for giving thanks, hopefully the rest of the days follow".. something like that... XD