This morning as I started thinking about what I was grateful for, Paul’s message in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 came to mind. “Be thankful in all circumstances….” All circumstances, he tell us. Really? It’s easy to be grateful for a beautiful day or good things happening in my life, but what about the tough times? I don’t think Paul is suggesting that we love everything that happens. Rather, I believe he is asking us to see the possibilities of good in whatever takes place. He’s asking us to take a deeper, more nuanced look, and give it time.
Jesus’ followers couldn’t have been thankful as they watched their friend on the cross. They didn’t know the good news that was to follow. In the moment it is impossible to be thankful for physical and emotional pain.
God’s invitation to be thankful in all circumstances invites us to live in God’s kingdom, not our own, which means to wait out God’s plan with hope. This morning I’m thinking of a difficult situation that I am a part of and trying to be thankful for the ways that God is shining through it.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of Christ Jesus for you (1 Thess 5:17-18).
 
I love this scripture. In fact, pray without ceasing is my favorite. What intrigues me is the little preposition in, and the little adjective all. Give thanks in all circumstance.
It’s not easy to do that. Do I even want to in the midst of horrendous situations? Can I even remember at those difficult moments? My answer is no and no, but I am called to keep trying. That’s why I practice gratitude during the good times. Hopefully the habit will stay with me when things get tough.

Thanksgiving is upon us and as you know, gratitude isfoundational to my life, the gift my mom gave me and so many others. We can be thankful, grateful, however you want to phrase it, in personal prayer, but what about expressing it out in the world? Sharing gratitude changes us, changes others, changes the world.
Arthur C. Brooks, in “Choose to Be Grateful. It Will Make You Happier” (NYT, November 21, 2015), offers some suggestions, but please, read the entire text.
• Acting happy, regardless of feelings, coaxes one’s brain into processing positive emotions.
• Choosing to focus on good things makes you feel better than focusing on bad things.
• Choosing gratitude can also bring out the best in those around us.
• Move to “exterior gratitude.” Write two short emails each morning to friends, family or colleagues, thanking them for what they do.
• Be grateful for useless things.
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/opinion/sunday/choose-to-be-grateful-it-will-make-you-happier.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share
Am posting this on my cottagebythesea blog as well.

Frequently I write about gratitude, about giving thanks not just for the big things, but for the little ones. I grew up with the idea of gratitude. It formed the basis of my mother faith, which makes it no surprise that the memoir I’m completing about her is entitled ‘Very Grateful.’ So this morning, I was feeling pretty smug that I had this gratitude piece down pat. That is, until I read this from The Rule of St. Benedict.

     “First of all, every time you begin a good work, you must pray to God most earnestly to bring it to perfection.”

     It’s one thing to remember to thank God after something that has happened, especially when things have gone well. Well, according to my judgment, according to how I want my life to be! On the other hand, it is much harder to remember to pray before I start doing anything, be it a ‘good work’ or just one of life’s usual routines. I usually plunge right in, and maybe, maybe just once in a while, do I open up a tiny space to pray before I begin, to ask God to start out with me and to come along throughout the task, throughout the day. It’s going to take some practice and prayer on my part, but I’m going to give it a try. Scratch that word ‘try’, which allows a way out. I’m committed to keep remembering and when I forget, I’ll remember again.

       I’ve just started a new chapter in my gratitude book: “Prayers Before I Start.” The first entry includes four times today when I want to ask God to come along: writing this blog, fine tuning the introduction and epilogue to ‘Very Grateful’, going to the grocery store, and cooking supper.

    As I finish up this post, I realize that it took me until this moment to ask God to help me with this very message. I have a long way to God, but God hasn’t given up on me. God is still speaking. Right now I feel a palpable difference in what my life is about. A question just popped up: If I don’t want to put a task on the list, is it worth doing?  

To the best of my recollection this is the first time that my two blogs have shared the same entry. But today is the day for a new first. Today there is no seam between my cottage by the sea and my prayer diary.

In my last blog I wrote about the open-air memorial on Copley Square to the victims of the Boston bombing. When I was there, it felt that it had sprung up from the heart of every visitor and that that love continued to tend it day after day.

     I now have some more information about this phenomenon. I quote from the First Parish of Sudbury Unitarian Universalist 327 Concord Rd., Sudbury, MA 01776 newsletter. The words are those of Interim Minister Rev. Tracey Robinson-Harris.

 (For the full text of John Millspaugh’s reflection go to http://www.uuworld.org/life/articles/285333.shtml)

       “The Rev. John Millspaugh was on Boylston Street recently. He writes, In front of a shuttered storefront, three small white wooden crosses stood with elegant simplicity, each bearing the name and picture of one of the three victims who died on April 15. . .adorned with ribbons and paper hearts, mementos and religious figurines . . . Because the police’s physical investigation was drawing to a close and Boylston Street would soon reopen, DPW workers were relocating the objects from the impromptu shrine to a larger one in Copley Square. At first, we passersby simply watched the DPW men as they loaded . . . items into their white van. Gradually . . . we flowed past barricades to help them with their holy labor. . . Both spectators and DPW workers seemed hesitant to remove the three wooden crosses standing alone on the granite sidewalk.

      “The DPW official in charge, noticing the clergy garb John was wearing from a Standing on the Side of Love rally supporting immigration reform earlier that day, asked him to say a few words before the crosses were loaded and the shrine dissolved completely. John’s prayer ended with, “May we all be the rebuilders.” John continues.

     “One of the DPW workers spoke softly to the official, who then turned to me and asked if I would carry Martin Richard’s cross to the van . . . I can’t describe the feelings that surged in me as I lifted the memorial to this 8-year-old boy. Sorrow, humility, and reverence for the sacred privilege come close. The destruction of that day cannot be undone. But it can be answered. Already we are busying ourselves with healing. . . There is much to do on a symbolic level. I’m beginning to ask myself how to move beyond the symbolic. I’ll be searching for ways to answer the destructive acts of these two individuals with actions grounded in my own highest values. I’ll be looking for ways that we, together, might re-consecrate sacred ground.

In the midst of our joy and our sorrow may we be (re)builders of the future.

In faith,

Tracey

(For the full text of John’s reflection go to http://www.uuworld.org/life/articles/285333.shtml)”

I don’t mean to be secretive, but sometimes it’s best to keep my prayers and their success between me and God. I had one of those situations today. I prayed to let go of a result that I wanted and to trust that God was working through my predicament. I can’t say I let go and trusted 100% but I was as close as I could get and I was willing to try.  I am happy with the result and I believe that those involved are also satisfied. Now for prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving.

I’ve been thinking about worry and what I can do about. I’m sure you know what I mean; we do it all the time, even though we know it is not God’s desire for us. Lately I’ve been trying to catch my worry early on and pray for calm no matter what the storm. This snow storm was one of those times.

     Worry One: that I would arrive at the cottage to discover that the driveway had not been plowed. Worry Two: that it would be impossible to shovel myself into the house.

     I decided to have several prayers going about it. Prayer One: that I would stop thinking about all the possible problems that could arise. Prayer Two: that I would deal rationally with whatever was waiting for me. Prayer Three: that I would see all the blessings waiting for me and be grateful.

     Well, there wasn’t even any practical need to worry. Instead, easy gratitude was waiting for me as I pulled into the carefully plowed driveway. Ten minutes of shoveling and I was in the warm cottage. With God’s grace, I remembered to be grateful. All my prayers were answered; hopefully I have a new pattern going.

According to the surgeon, my friend’s brain surgery “went perfectly.” My will and God’s will were in sync. Throughout this entire experience my friend has only expressed gratitude. She has lifted up the blessings of her life, and never felt ‘why me?’ or ‘poor me’. She has taught us much about living, about fighting the good fight, and about being faithful. And now she has been given more living light to shine on us, and for that, we are grateful.

     The world is a more hopeful place because of my friend’s smile. May her mind be clear, her body healed, and her spirit radiate.   

This morning when I read this I thought of my mom, who died a little over a year ago at age 101. She is one of those saint that Mary Luti is talking about in today’s Stillspeaking Devotional dailydevotional@ucc.org.

    I started reading for a one sentence quote, but I couldn’t stop. So here it is in its entirety.

Those Whose Race Is Won

Excerpt from 2 Corinthians 4:4-18

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels to show that this all-surpassing power is from God..."



Reflection by J. Mary Luti

We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, but except on All Saints Day, it hovers over us unnoticed. It's like our appendix: we don't need it, so unless it acts up, we don't know it's there, or much care. That's too bad, because unlike our appendix, we need the saints more than we think. Not, as in the Middle Ages, to save us from Hell for a coin or heal our complex ills by the simple application of a left-behind bone. We have politicians and star-power pastors for that.

No, we don't need them for magic. We need them for lively conversation about the immense dignity of ordinary life, the incalculable value of everyday intentions to follow Jesus, and the inexplicable power of human haplessness to attract the mercies of God. We need them to confirm for us the secret of holiness behind halos and hymns - drudgery and routine; fleshly weakness and the shame of sin; the need for pardon and the struggle to be ready for grace; the groaning labor to reorder selfish affections towards selfless Love; the foolish choice to hope against hope; and the costly return, day after weary day, to the unlovely neighbor's side, with no one catching any of this stubborn, unremarkable pilgrimage on tape.

Faced with intractable fears and exhausting complexities, the world whips out the sensation, the quick fix, and the magic of celebrity. The church's ancient wisdom offers instead "mystic sweet communion with those whose race is won." We have the saints, and if we look carefully, we find that they are us - extraordinary signs that ordinary vulnerability, love and repentance, courage and perseverance still count. For a lot. For everything.

Happy All Saints Day, saints of God!



Prayer

For all the saints who from their labors rest, who thee by faith before the world confessed, thy name O Jesus, be forever blessed. Alleluia!