Thoughts for Thanksgiving

 I'm starting a set of thoughts for Thanksgiving today, leading up to next Thursday.

To whom or what are you grateful?
What challenges have you been grateful through?
Have you been grateful with others?
Where have you discovered gratitude within?
Has something in your life been changed by being grateful?
In what circumstances have you experienced thankfulness?

(Diane Butler Bass) from The Cottage

To whom or what are you grateful?

Day 1

Giving thanks to Diane Butler Bass for her suggestions about what to consider for Thanksgiving instead of the usual “what are you grateful for?”

First of all I am grateful to God for the whole set of blessings in life in 70 years of it. They include what everybody would agree are blessings, and would also include the adversity I’ve had to go through, but that brought new qualities for which I’m grateful for as well. I’ll bring up the challenges I’ve been through in the next day’s sharing.

I am also very grateful for people who have blessed me in a life time of encounters.

I would have to include an English teacher in High School who pushed me so hard, that it improved my SAT scores, that would not have happened had she not have been so pushy.

I would have to include a College professor, who enabled me to expand my understanding of people who have totally different perspectives than mine, and allow me to grow in appreciation for the diversity and made it possible for me to accept far more people in the rest of my life because of that.

I would have to include teachers who introduced me to the value of drama and theater. It turned out, the class was to fulfill a credit, but years later proved to be extremely valuable. I was able to develop a whole set of Biblical and Historical characters for preaching and other celebrations, from what I learned in those classes. Taking part in theatrical productions, was a great gift.

I would have to include a Seminary teacher who opened my eyes to a wider variety of worship styles that served me well in 46+ years of ministry and worship leadership. It was particularly helpful during the Covid Pandemic when we had to pivot to different forms of worship away from the sanctuary. Having a strong foundation of options, made that easier.

I must give thanks for a dozen or so church leaders, who supported my ministry in official and unofficial capacities in those 9 congregations I served. They offered understanding, wise advice, and often the kind of walking along beside me, that I needed.

I must give thanks to several church staff members, who understood what I was trying to do and added their talents and inspiration to help us move in new directions. There are so many components of church life, no one person can manage it all.

I must also give thanks to the agitators in those congregations. Some really taught me to see other components. Some were destructive in their fighting against what needed to be done. I’m grateful in a sense, that I survived those encounters and that it brought me some patience in tough circumstances. Like Peter sinking into the lake because he took his eyes off of Jesus and became aware of his surroundings, Jesus reached out and pulled me out.

There were moments and events to which I am thankful

I just happened to be at General Conference when Cooperative Parish legislation was being discussed in a legislative section. I happened to be in a Cooperative Parish setting. I was invited to help the section deal with the legislation and ended up being included in the UMC Discipline because of that, even anonymously.

Four years later, because of my historical character portrayals, I became Thomas Coke meeting Francis Asbury at the original site in Delaware, for the whole world council of Bishops before the historic General Conference in Baltimore in 1984. It was a thrill to be a key part in that celebration. Right time right place, I had no idea. Grateful for those memories.

There are also fun weddings, great moments in a congregations history, Volunteers In Missions trips and much more, that I am recalling in my quest to be truly thankful for with the help of other people. I never could have imagined starting out that these moments and people would be included in my life time.

Before leaving today’s reflection…

I am truly grateful for my parents, who blessed me on my way. Who taught me what is really important, and who showed how God is the primary mover and shaper of life. On this day of my mother’s birthday, I remember all that she blessed me with, thanks Mom.

May you be blessed and grateful for The Who that blessed you.

Pastor Jeff